Crude oil traders welcomed the decision of OPEC and its allies, including Russia better known as OPEC+ to maintain an additional current production of 400,000 barrels a day in January.
The contagion of the Omicron variant has added to concerns over lower demand and a surplus of crude oil early next year after major oil-consuming countries pledged to release their emergency reserves.
However, an OPEC+ statement saying that it is ready to adjust production plans quickly should the Covid-19 outbreak affect crude oil prices drastically at the next meeting.
This put crude oil trading back positive, seeing Brent futures traded higher at $ 70.72 a barrel in the Asian session today. Meanwhile, US WTI futures were up $ 67.64 a barrel.
Meanwhile, U.S. deputy energy secretary David Turk told that President Joe Biden’s administration could adjust the timing of a plan to release crude oil supplies from its strategic reserves if global energy prices fall sharply.
