Oil's performance was almost stable in morning trading on Tuesday, as Brent crude futures, the standard for February delivery, settled at $74.33 a barrel, while futures contracts for Brent crude fell to $74.33 a barrel. US NYMEX January delivery marginally by 0.1% to reach $71.19 per barrel.
Oil's performance today comes amid investor concerns about crude demand in light of the re-imposition of new restrictions related to the Corona virus in Europe and Asia in light of the increasing outbreak of the new mutation of the virus (Omicron).
Edward Moya, chief analyst at the foreign exchange trading company OANDA, said in comments reported by Reuters, that all the downside risks are short-term, which range between the direction of The Fed's tightening and Omicron strain appear to have very negative implications for the outlook for short-term oil prices.
At the same time, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) indicated in its monthly report issued on Monday, that the impact of the Omicron strain is expected to be moderate and last for a period of time. Short because the world is getting better prepared to deal with the virus.
(OPEC) maintained its expectations for the levels of global demand for oil in 2021 and 2022, as it indicated that global demand for oil may rise by 5.7 million barrels per day in 2021, and about 4.2 million barrels per day in 2022.
While the organization raised its forecast for the growth of global demand for oil in the first quarter of next year by about 1.11 million barrels per day to 99.13 million barrels per day.
The report lowered its forecast for global economic growth in 2021 from 5.6% to 5.5%, while maintaining expectations in 2022 at 4.2%.
