| At 10 am Singapore time (0200 GMT), the ICE February Brent futures contract was down 53 cents/b (0.72%) from the previous close at $73.17/b, while the NYMEX January light sweet crude contract fell 60 cents/b (0.85%) to $70.13/b.
Concerns over the omicron variant once again took center stage as emerging news showed the fast-spreading nature of the virus, as well as government responses to curb the spread, which in turn is expected to hurt oil demand. A South African study out Dec. 14 showed that a two-dose regime of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine was less effective in keeping omicron-infected people out of the hospital compared to the delta variant, though protection was still high at about 70%. Data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dec. 14, meanwhile, showed that the omicron variant was spreading rapidly though the country and may cause a significant surge in infections as soon as January. The omicron variant accounted for 3% of COVID-19 infections in the country as of Dec. 11, the CDC said. (S&P Global Platts)
In another bearish indicator, industry data showed that U.S. crude inventories last week did not decline as much as expected. American Petroleum Institute data showed U.S. crude stocks fell by 815,000 barrels in the week ended Dec. 10, according to market sources, compared with a 2.1 million barrel drop that 10 analysts polled by Reuters had expected. However, distillate stocks fell by 1 million barrels, compared with analysts’ forecasts for an increase of 700,000 barrels, and gasoline stocks rose by 426,000 barrels, which was a smaller build than expected. (Reuters)
OIL MARKET ROUND-UP: (Bloomberg)
* China’s Oil Refining Jumps to 5-Month High After Fuel Concerns
* Oil Poised to Resume Weekly Losses as Bearish Signs Mount: Chart
* Oil Surplus Returns as Supplies Climb and Omicron Hits, IEA Says
* U.S. Sour Crudes Rise to 3-Month Highs as Buyers Await SPR Sales
* API Reports U.S. Crude Stockpiles Declined 815k Bbl Last Week
* Oil Futures Curve Sends Warning Sign to Bullish Investors
* Baltic Sea Oil Tanker Rates Soar Again; U.S. Gulf Diesel Hike
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