On Monday, oil prices jump following Saudi Arabia’s hike on its crude prices aimed at Asia and the US, along with the impasse in the talks of Iranian nuclear deals with world powers.
By 00.33 GMT, Brent crude futures for February soared by 2.4% or USD1.69 to USD71.57/barrel while US WTI for January gained 2.5% or USD1.66 to USD67.92/barrel.
The two benchmarks rebounded after falling last week for their sixth week in a row for the first time since November 2018 due to the Omicron-variant worries.
Previously on Sunday, Saudi increased its official selling prices (OSP) of all crude grades for January aimed to Asia and the US by 80 cents compared to the previous month.
The decision came despite the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies (OPEC+) having decided to continue their increasing supplies by 400,000 bpd in January.
Another factor supporting oil prices was the impasse in the US-Iranian talks on saving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal last week. The prospect of more Iranian crude supply to the market has once again diminished.
Looking forward, the outlook is clouded by the impact of Omicron on the global economic recovery and fuel demand. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has signaled the possibility of it lowering its global economic growth estimates.
As of Sunday, the new variant has spread to around one-third of US states.
