Crude oil futures were mostly steady in mid-morning trade in Asia Jan. 4 as upbeat sentiment continued to underpin prices going into the new year, while the OPEC+ group saw a limited impact on global demand growth from the coronavirus omicron variant.
At 9:55 am Singapore time (0155 GMT), the ICE March Brent futures contract was up 2 cents/b (0.03%) from the previous close at $79.00/b, while the NYMEX February light sweet crude contract was 2 cents/b (0.03%) higher at $76.10/b. Both benchmarks had settled up to 1.5% higher overnight. “Market participants seem to be tilted toward taking on more risks for now,” said IG market strategist Yeap Jun Rong in a Jan. 4 note, adding that optimism surrounding the upcoming OPEC+ meeting was underpinning the energy sector. OPEC and its Russia-led allies appear increasingly confident that […]