Oil Gives up Its Gains And Retreats

Oil gave up gains recorded earlier in the session on Thursday, and retreated, affected by some countries in the world imposing new restrictions on travel to limit the increase in infections with the Omicron mutant, but losses remained limited due to positive developments related to the pandemic.

By 0810 GMT, West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 12 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $ 72.62 a barrel, after jumping 2.3 percent in the previous session.

Brent crude futures were down 18 cents, or 0.1 percent, at $75.11 a barrel, after rising 1.8 percent in the previous session.

Wednesday’s big gains were partly driven by a larger-than-expected drop in US crude stocks last week.

And the United States granted approval for anti-Covid-19 tablets starting at the age of 12 in the first local treatment for the disease taken by mouth, as well as a new tool to combat the rapidly spreading mutant Omicron.

Meanwhile, Astra (SE:1212) Zeneca reported that three doses of its COVID-19 vaccine are effective against Omicron, citing data from a lab study conducted by Oxford University.

On the other hand, governments around the world have re-imposed a set of restrictions to limit the spread of Omicron.