Brent crude falls below $71, WTI drops 4.4%

Oil prices fell on Monday as growing cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant in Europe and the United States stoked investor worries that new restrictions to control its spread may impact fuel demand.

This is due to fears of impending restrictions on economic activities to contain the current increasing spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant worldwide, which may increase the risk of demand slowdown, Reuters reported, citing Kelvin Wong, market analyst at CMC Markets.

The Netherlands went into lockdown on Sunday and the possibility of more COVID-19 restrictions being imposed ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays loomed over several European countries.

Brent crude futures for February fell 3.7% to $70.78 a barrel by 11.40 am Makkah time. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for January declined 4.4% to $67.78 a barrel.