Oil Rises on Optimism About Omicron

Oil prices rose on Monday, extending the gains made last Friday, supported by growing optimism that the impact of the mutated Omicron strain of the Coronavirus will be limited to global economic growth and fuel demand.

US West Texas crude rose 69 cents, or 1.0 percent, to $72.36 a barrel, after achieving a 1 percent increase in the previous session.

Both benchmarks gained 8 percent last week, their first weekly gain in seven weeks. Moreover, the two benchmarks have regained more than half of their losses since the Omicron outbreak on November 25.