Crude Oil Weekly Review: Omicron is afraid of paper tigers, and oil prices ended six consecutive declines on a weekly basis!

U.
S.
crude rose 8.
67 percent to $71.
96 a barrel this week, ending a six-week losing streak as concerns about Omicron cooled, with news that Omicron infections showed only mild symptoms and a Pfizer vaccine booster shot expected to neutralize Omicron
.
However, the announcement of tighter coronavirus restrictions in the United Kingdom weighed on oil prices on
Thursday.
In addition, the poor progress of the US-Iran negotiations also supported oil prices
.

Omicron cases are mild, and market concerns have cooled

South Africa reported over the weekend that local cases of Omicron infection had so far shown only mild symptoms
.

Fauci, the chief epidemic prevention expert in the United States, also said this week that the Omicorn virus does not appear to have severe cases, which is consistent with some early studies that Omicorn-infected people have milder
symptoms than other variants.

The U.
S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday that some of the first reported omicron cases in the United States were mostly vaccinated people with mild symptoms, with only one person hospitalized so far and no deaths reported
.

As of 8 December, the United States has investigated 43 cases of Omicron infection, of which about four-fifths are fully vaccinated, with one patient hospitalized for two days
.
Common symptoms include cough, tiredness, and a stuffy or runny nose
, according to the CDC Weekly Report on Morbidity and Mortality.

Marshall Steeves, energy market analyst at IHS Markit, said traders believe that the Omicron virus poses little threat and expect global economic growth to be only slightly affected
.

Strongly supported by this optimistic news, oil prices ushered in a rare third consecutive rally this week, after a sharp drop
due to the emergence of Omicron.

Preliminary trials have shown that a booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine neutralizes the variant Omicron

Pfizer and BionTech SE said preliminary experimental studies suggest that a third dose of their coronavirus vaccine may be needed to neutralize the new coronavirus variant Omicron, a result that is expected to accelerate the global pace of booster shots and may lead to the use of new vaccines
against variants.

The researchers found that if only two doses of the vaccine were given, it was able to prevent Omicron with neutralizing antibodies about 25 times
lower than the original strain.
However, the companies said in a statement that if they receive a booster shot, they can restore protection to a level similar to that after two doses of the vaccine
.

BioNTech CEO Ugur Sahin said on a conference call that it was clear that in response to omicron, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine "should be three doses.
"
He said it may be reasonable to get a booster earlier than currently recommended, and the time could be shortened to three months
after the first two shots.

Mikael Dolsten, Pfizer's chief scientific officer, said in an interview that in the short term, strong antibodies triggered by the third shot of Pfizer's existing vaccine, Comirnaty, may provide good protection in the months leading up to early spring, buying time
to develop new vaccines and determine the best way to advance.
At the same time, unofficial sources still suggest that most patients infected with Omicron have relatively mild
disease.

Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group, said traders are beginning to understand that Omicron could disrupt demand slightly, but not as deadly
as feared.
Oil prices did fall after the UK indicated that limited restrictions might be imposed, but appeared to pull back the oil market
after Pfizer and BioNTech announced that a third dose could neutralize the virus.

The UK announced stricter anti-epidemic measures

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed stricter coronavirus restrictions in England on Wednesday, requiring people to work from home, wear masks in public places and use vaccine passes to slow the spread
of the Omicron variant.

Johnson said the Omicron variant was spreading rapidly and he had no choice but to take a "Plan B" to buy time
for more people to get a booster shot.

"While the outlook will improve, and I sincerely hope it will, we know that the relentless logic of exponential growth could lead to an increase in hospitalization rates and, sadly, a significant increase in deaths as a result," Johnson told
a news conference.

Measures such as reusing masks on public transport and shops are already in place, but Johnson said Wednesday that people should now work
from home if they could.

(Measures) require the wearing of masks in public places, and it is mandatory to show vaccine passes
when entering nightclubs and crowded places.

Denmark is also planning new restrictions, including the closure of restaurants, bars and schools
.

The new restrictions still caused concern among investors in the oil market, and oil prices surged higher on Thursday to record the only black candlestick
of the week.

The United States warned Iran that new sanctions would be added if negotiations failed

With Iran nuclear deal negotiations at a standoff, the Biden administration warned Thursday that the United States is preparing a new round of sanctions against Iran and will urge other countries to comply with existing sanctions
.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that President Joe Biden "has asked his team to prepare
for diplomatic failure.
" If negotiations in Vienna to revive the 2015 nuclear deal fail, "we will have no choice but to take other steps" to limit Iran's revenues
.

Psaki's comments came as the U.
S.
government announced that officials from the Treasury and State Departments would travel to the United Arab Emirates to discuss compliance with sanctions against Iran
.
The UAE is buying Iranian oil, and some of the country's banks are also facilitating business activities in Iran, in apparent violation of U.
S.
sanctions
.

A senior U.
S
.
official who has said Iran has not shown seriousness in the Vienna talks, has withdrawn many of its proposals made at previous meetings and demanded sanctions easing beyond the terms of the original 2015 deal.

In restarting the Iran nuclear talks on Thursday, Iran expressed its willingness to work on the basis of the June text, a European diplomatic source said on Friday, adding that world powers would test whether that was true
in the coming days.

The unsatisfactory progress of the US-Iran nuclear negotiations has made the return of Iranian crude oil to the market far away, providing support
for oil prices.

The United States lowered its oil demand and oil price forecasts

The US government lowered its crude oil price forecast
for the end of 2022 due to various travel restrictions triggered by the outbreak of the new coronavirus Omicron variant, which caused a short-term impact on global oil demand.

According to the Short-Term Energy Outlook report, the U.
S.
Energy Information Administration lowered its price forecast for global benchmark Brent crude and U.
S.
benchmark crude futures by nearly $2/b
from previous forecasts.
The agency also lowered its oil and liquid fuel demand forecasts for the fourth and first quarters, while raising its expectations
for OPEC+ and U.
S.
oil production.

The U.
S.
Energy Information Administration (EIA) said it expects U.
S.
crude oil production to fall by 100,000 b/d in 2021, compared with a 150,000 b/d
forecast last month.

The EIA expects U.
S.
crude oil production to increase by 670,000 b/d next year, down from an expected increase of 770,000 b/d last month; Total global crude oil consumption is expected to be 96.
91 million b/d in 2021, compared with 97.
53 million b/d previously expected, and 100.
46 million b/d in 2022 compared to 100.
88 million b/d
.

Brent crude oil is expected to be $70.
60/b in 2021, compared to $71.
59/b previously expected; Brent crude is expected to be $70.
05/b in 2022, compared to $71.
91/b
previously expected.

WTI crude oil is expected to be $67.
87/b in 2021, compared with $69.
02/b previously expected; WTI crude oil is expected to be $66.
42/b in 2022, compared to $68.
28/b
previously expected.