Brent oil futures inched below 0.10% to $76.52 by 9:47 PM ET (2:47 AM GMT). WTI futures increased 1.32% to $73.72.
Good news from the coronavirus front gave the black liquid a boost, with trading volumes thin before the holidays.
A U.K. health agency stated that Omicron was less likely to induce hospitalization than the Delta variant. On Thursday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration also endowed emergency use approval for Merck & Co . Inc.’s (NYSE: MRK) coronavirus pill on Pfizer Inc.’s (NYSE: PFE) coronavirus antiviral therapy, Paxlovid, obtained emergency use authorization from the regulator the day before.
OANDA Corp. senior market analyst Edward Moya informed Bloomberg that crude prices stabilized behind a rash of primarily positive coronavirus vaccine/treatment headlines in the war against Omicron.
To him, it seems all the significant catalysts that await oil in the New Year lean towards higher prices.
Nevertheless, investors remained careful amid swelling infection cases, Nissan Securities general manager of research Hiroyuki Kikukawa informed Reuters.
Positive Attitude on Oil Kept in Europe and Asia
United Airlines and Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) declared they had each withdrawn dozens of Christmas Eve flights on Thursday. This is due to the spread of Omicron suggesting a smaller workforce.
According to Kikukawa, given the elevated natural gas prices in Europe and Asia, the oil will likely keep a positive attitude that some industries switch fuel from high-priced gas to oil.
Meanwhile, Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) has extinguished a fire at its Baytown oil-processing facility, one of the biggest in the U.S. Exxon spokeswoman Julie King stated the company is adjusting operating rates to stabilize the affected unit. Hence, gasoline’s premium over crude collided around 6.1% behind the news.
