Market fears of omicron faded, with U.S. oil posting its biggest weekly gain in more than three months

On Friday (December 10), crude oil rose 1.
14% to close at $75.
27 / barrel; The cumulative increase for the week reached 7.
31%.

So far, fuel consumption has not suffered any major shocks due to the new coronavirus variant, and market concerns about the new strain have subsided
.

Ed Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda Corp.
, said crude oil prices performed well this week as nervousness over omicron has eased and the growth outlook for the U.
S.
economy in 2022 has not changed
.

According to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) research report, some omicron cases are mostly vaccinated people, showing mild symptoms, so far only one person has been hospitalized, and no deaths have been reported
.
Many of these first reported cases of omicron infection appear to be mild, although as with all variants, there is a period of time from infection to the development of more severe symptoms, and vaccination and previous COVID infection may reduce symptoms
.

Meanwhile, the UK's Health Security Agency said a study of 581 people infected with the Omicron variant found that the ability of the new crown booster to prevent mild symptoms increased to about 70%-75%.

While the Omicron variant is expected to account for half of all new cases in the middle of this month; The number of cases of variant infections will reach one million by the end of December, but booster shots of the new crown vaccine have proven effective
.

However, the market is also showing some signs
of softening.
The outlook for the physical delivery market for Asian crude oil is weaker, and the price structure of Brent crude this week also signals bearish
sentiment.
According to data from the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), speculators' net long positions in Brent crude oil fell by 13,109 contracts to 154057 contracts, a new low
in about 13 months, according to data from the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE).
Speculators' net long position in Brent gasoline fell 2,821 contracts to 81,334 contracts, a recent more than 10-month low
.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed tighter restrictions in England this week, saying people should work from home as much as possible, wear masks in public places and show vaccine passes to enter certain events and venues
.
Denmark also plans to introduce new restrictions, including the closure of restaurants, bars and schools
.
Canada's health minister said the Omicron variant is expected to be a wake-up call for Canadians seeking to travel abroad during the holiday season
.
As governments are likely to introduce more tighter travel restrictions, it could hit demand for crude oil and hinder further upside in oil prices
.

On the supply side, Standard Chartered analyst Paul Horsnell and others wrote in a report that OPEC+ ministers are expected to pause or cut production
in January in response to the deterioration of oil market fundamentals as the omicron variant dragged down the first quarter rollover.
The bank expects that the Jan.
4 meeting will decide to suspend the production increase (60% probability) or roll back the production increase agreed on December 2 (40% probability).

Oversupply is expected every month in the first half of 2022, and demand risks remain skewed to the downside
.

The U.
S.
Department of Energy said it had approved the first shipment of 4.
8 million barrels of oil
to ExxonMobil.
According to the announcement, deliveries
will be made from storage locations in Bryan Mound, West Hackberry and Bayou Choctaw.
According to Baker Hughes Oil Services, the total number of rigs in the United States increased by seven to 576 in the week ended Dec.
10, and U.
S.
oil and gas rigs increased
in six out of seven weeks.