Markets at the opening of the European session saw crude oil trading plunge to a nearly two-month low following a statement by vaccine maker Covid-19, Moderna raising concerns over the new Omicron variant.
Moderna CEO Stephaben Bancel said the Covid-19 vaccine may be less effective against Omicron as it has been on other viral variants before.
Both benchmarks plunged more than 2% following the report, which saw crude oil futures decline around 2.5% to $ 71.62 a barrel. Meanwhile, US WTI was down 2.3% to $ 68.34 a barrel.
The $ 62 low, which was touched last August, could be the next major target for black commodity trading if these concerns continue.
If existing vaccines are not effective in tackling the transmission of omicron variants, it indirectly shows a bleak outlook on crude oil demand in the future.
Crude oil had plunged around 12% on Friday along with other markets following concerns that Omicron’s heavily mutated would trigger new closures and hurt global growth and hurt oil demand.
