(New York) Oil prices posted a second session of sharp rise on Tuesday that once again put Brent and WTI above $ 70 a barrel, in a market that no longer believes in a significant effect of the Omicron variant on l ‘Mondial economy.
The price of a barrel of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in February, listed in London, jumped 3.22% to end at 75.44 dollars.
In New York, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for the month of January, the most traded contract, gained 3.68% to 72.05 dollars.
WTI rose more than 5% during the session, before slowing down slightly at the close.
“From what we hear, the variant [Omicron] is not as threatening as other variants […], so we do not expect massive lockdowns “, which would have penalized the demand for oil in the short term, summarized James Williams, of the firm WTRG Economics.
It is “almost certain” that the Omicron variant is not more serious than Delta, White House adviser on the health crisis, Anthony Fauci, said on Tuesday.
The momentum of crude was nonetheless cut a little by profit taking, but also by the publication of new estimates from the US Energy Information Agency (EIA), which is now counting on a barrel of Brent around. of $ 70.05 on average in 2022, against 71.91 in its previous report in early November.
As for WTI, the agency sees the barrel now at 66.42 dollars against 68.28 previously.
For the EIA, in 2022, “production growth from OPEC, the United States and non-OPEC countries will exceed demand, which is slowing, especially in light of heightened concerns about to COVID-19 variants ”.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies in the OPEC + agreement have so far stuck to their schedule of monthly production hikes of 400,000 barrels per day.
In the short term, many operators are nevertheless expecting a new heat wave. Before the sequence which saw the United States draw on its strategic reserves, the appearance of Omicron and OPEC + raise its production for January, “many thought at 100 dollars” a barrel, recalls James Williams. “I think it’s no longer in question. But we could go beyond 80 dollars “by the end of the year, says the analyst.
“The market is ripe to rise further as production levels are low due to the lack of investment in new wells,” said Edward Moya, from Oanda, in a note. ” President [américain Joe Biden] may have celebrated a little quickly the small drop in the price of gasoline, “he continues, also referring to an 80-dollar barrel” if the cold returns “in the northern hemisphere.