Virus variant threat and Powell's hawkish voice hit oil prices, U.S. oil fell nearly 20% in November

International oil prices continue to come under pressure
.
On November 30, Moderna's CEO questioned the effectiveness of existing vaccines against the new Omicron variant, and the hawkish speech of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell later that day, sent the two major crude oil futures plunged 7%
at one point.
It was another plunge in international oil prices after Friday's worst crash in 20 months, and by the end of the day, the decline had narrowed
.

Throughout November, WTI crude oil futures fell 19.
3%, and Brent crude oil futures fell 15.
7%, both posting their biggest monthly declines since March last year
.
As of press time, WTI crude futures for January 2021 delivery were at $67.
67/barrel, and Brent crude futures for February 2022 delivery were at $70.
57/barrel, up slightly from before
.

On Tuesday (November 30), Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said in an interview with the Financial Times that existing vaccines are expected to be far less effective in dealing with Omicron than against early coronavirus strains
.
"I don't think any [vaccine] is going to be as effective as that, and that's going to be a substantial drop
.
" I don't know how much it will go down because there is still to wait for the data
.
"Major assets and capital markets fell
quickly.
However, what is more irritating is the speech of the Fed Powell at the hearing of the US Senate Banking Committee
.
Regarding the description of inflation, Powell said it was time to abandon the word "temporarily
.
" The Fed will discuss accelerating tapering at its December meeting
.
The market believes that the statement means that Powell has changed his face and paved the way
for a faster than expected rate hike.
This caused a sensation in the global market, and oil prices
plummeted.

Despite the drop in oil prices, the United States will continue to execute its largest plan to release the 50 million barrels of strategic petroleum reserves in its history
.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said there were no plans to
reduce the release of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
"We are frustrated
that oil prices have fallen but gasoline prices have not fallen.
" The OPEC+ meeting is about to be held, and the United States has expressed hope that OPEC+ will release oil supply to meet market demand
.

The United States is even ready to release more crude
from strategic oil inventories if needed.
Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to the U.
S.
State Department, told CNBC on Monday, "We want to do something that has an impact on the market, and we have the ability and flexibility to do so
again if the U.
S.
economy arises and needs it.
" ”

For the new variant, oil-producing countries are much
calmer.

According to TASS, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that Russia does not currently see the need for urgent measures against the oil market, and OPEC+ members have not contacted
Russia on this issue.
"We don't think it's necessary, we need to carefully monitor and watch the situation
.
There is no need to make hasty decisions
.
He said the emergence of new variants will always lead to a reassessment of the market, as many countries adopt various restrictive measures
.
It remains to be seen how developments and the extent of
the impact on demand will be observed.
The OPEC+ ministerial meeting is scheduled for December 2, "where "we will discuss with OPEC+ countries the market situation and the need for
measures.
" ”

"I'm a very optimistic person and I'm not worried
about that.
" Asked how Omicron might affect oil demand, Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz said
.