*Omicron coronavirus variant
Lagos — Oil prices gained more than 5% on Monday to above $76 a barrel as some investors viewed Friday’s slump in oil and financial markets as overdone while the world awaits more data on the Omicron coronavirus variant.
The commodity saw more than 10% drop in prices on Friday over fears on the Covid-19 variant.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, also on Monday, moved its joint technical committee meeting from Monday to Wednesday to give committees more time to evaluate the impact of the new variant.
Reuters on Monday reported a slum in Asian oil refiners’ margins to the lowest in nearly five months amid worries that the Omicron coronavirus variant could deal another blow to oil demand recovery, already hit by rising COVID-19 cases in Europe.
Governments around the world imposed travel curbs on travelers from southern Africa during the weekend to limit the spread of Omicron, first detected in South Africa.
