Oil prices rise after two sessions of decline

Global oil prices rose 1% on December 21 morning after two trading sessions of declines on fears over the spread of the coronavirus, Report informs referring to the auction data.

The price of February futures for Brent crude oil grew 0.8% to $72.09 per barrel, while the price of February futures for WTI crude grew 1.05%, to $69.33 per barrel.

Over the previous two trading sessions, oil fell lost almost 4% on fears over demand in the light of the spread of the omicron variant, which could entail a new tightening of quarantine restrictions and hinder the economic recovery. In particular, in Europe, there is already a high level of infection cases, and the authorities are beginning to tighten quarantine measures.

The growth of oil prices is supported by the news of the suspension of production at four oil fields in Libya, including the country’s largest field Sharara.

In addition, weekly statistics on US oil reserves will be published on December 22. Analysts believe that the country’s commercial oil reserves in the week ended December 17 fell by 2.6 million barrels, which could be the fourth consecutive week of declining reserves.