Oil prices slipped on Thursday, trimming big gains from the previous two sessions, amid uncertainty over near-term demand as cases of the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus surge around the globe.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures slipped 7 cents, or 0.1%, to $82.57 a barrel at 0221 GMT, after climbing 1.7% in the previous session.
Brent crude futures shed 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $84.61 a barrel, after rising 1.3% on Wednesday. Analysts say “Gasoline demand was weaker-than-expected and still below pre-pandemic levels as oil won’t be able to continue to push higher.
However, the weekly Agency’s report was less bullish than the headline number, as total crude oil inventories fell 4.8 million barrels but were more than offset by a stock build across refined products,” Citi said in a note.
