Market concerns about Omicron eased, and oil surged 4% to a new one-month high

On Monday (December 27), U.
S.
oil rose $2.
15, or 2.
91%, to close at $75.
94 / barrel, the first rise above $
75 in a month.
Oil prices recovered most of their losses since November 26 as optimism swept through the market as perceptions of the economic pain that Omicron could cause, particularly in tourism
, shifted.

Leona Liu, an analyst at DailyFX, said: "Although Omicron has spread faster than either variant, the relatively reassuring news is that, at least so far, most infected people have mild
symptoms.
Oil prices rose
after early data showed the new variant could cause milder symptoms.
”

According to a report by FlightAware, a flight-tracking data company, as of the afternoon of December 27, 1,011 flights to and from the United States within and outside the United States were canceled, and more than 2,400 flights were delayed
.
Nearly 7,700 flight delays have been recorded worldwide and more than 2,500 flights have been cancelled
.
John Kilduff, founding partner of Again Capital LLC, said mobile data during the holiday season remained strong
despite the omicron ravages and airline cancellations.
Strong economic activity has driven "a rebound in oil demand, as we saw this morning.
"

Fauci, Biden's chief medical adviser, said that despite indications that omicron's symptoms may be less severe, Americans should remain vigilant because the number of patients could overwhelm hospitals
.
The government should consider making vaccinations required for domestic travel, and people should consider avoiding larger gatherings
on New Year's Eve.

The number of confirmed cases of new coronavirus pneumonia in the UK fell below 100,000; South Africa has also seen a decline
in positivity rates.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Monday that the government would not impose new restrictions
in England until the end of 2021.

On the supply side, world powers and Iran resumed talks on Monday on resuming the
2015 nuclear deal.
Iranian news television quoted Abdollahian as saying on the same day that this "new joint draft" involves the lifting of sanctions against Iran and verification and other issues, which were reached by all parties in the last round of negotiations
.
A new round of negotiations will focus on the draft
.
The most important issue for Iran is that Iranian oil can be sold "without restrictions", and the funds from the sale are deposited in Iranian bank accounts
in foreign currency.
So far, the talks appear to have made little
progress in boosting Iranian oil exports.

Investors are also watching the next OPEC+ alliance meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies on Jan.
4 to decide whether to continue with the 400,000 b/d production
increase in February.