Brent oil fell as as trading volumes thinned moving into the holiday period, but still headed for a weekly gain on signs that the omicron variant of the virus may be less severe than previous strains. Futures in London slipped 0.7% toward $76 a barrel on Friday. While omicron has led to some travel restrictions and surging infections, a U.K. health agency said the variant was less likely to lead to hospitalizations, compared with the delta strain. While prices dipped early Friday, barely 50,000 Brent crude contracts had traded, suggesting little could be read into the move. On a normal trading day, volumes would be just below 1 million contracts. Oil is heading for a yearly gain after a robust rebound from the pandemic, but the rally has faltered recently, in part due to concerns about omicron. There are some signs of tightening emerging, however, with supply disruptions in […]