WTI crude futures rise 1.5% as Omicron fears ease

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices gained more than 1% today, Dec. 13, amid growing relief the Omicron coronavirus variant may not cause severe illness and will likely have a limited impact on global fuel demand.

“There was a growing sense of relief as the risk of serious illness in the Omicron was seen as low," Reuters reported, citing Tatsufumi Okoshi, senior economist at Nomura Securities.

Last week, South African scientists see no sign that the Omicron variant is causing more severe illness.

In addition, UK health authorities said that COVID-19 booster shots significantly restored protection against mild disease caused by the Omicron variant.

On Friday, the US Department of Energy said it will sell 18 million barrels of crude oil from its strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) on Dec. 17, as part of a previous plan to try to reduce gasoline prices.

Brent futures for February climbed 1.3% to $76.13 a barrel at 9am Makkah time. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 1.5% to $72.72 a barrel.