TOKYO: Oil prices extended their rally on Monday as investor appetite improved amid growing relief the Omicron coronavirus variant may not cause severe illness and will likely have a limited impact on global fuel demand.
Brent futures climbed 94 cents, or 1.3%, to $76.09 a barrel by 0500 GMT, after rising 1% on Friday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained $1.05, or 1.5%, to $72.72 a barrel, following a 1% increase in the previous session.
Both benchmarks posted gains of about 8% last week, their first weekly gain in seven. They have recovered more than half the losses suffered since Omicron headlines first hit Nov. 25.
“There was a growing sense of relief as the risk of serious illness in the Omicron was seen as low,” said Tatsufumi Okoshi, senior economist at Nomura Securities.
“Market focus has shifted to the next action by OPEC+,” he said.
South African scientists see no sign that the Omicron variant is causing more severe illness, they said on Friday, as officials announced plans to roll out vaccine boosters with daily infections approaching an all-time high.
