Oil posted a weekly decline after a volatile few days that saw traders grow more concerned about the demand impact from the omicron variant and tighter monetary policy. Futures in New York fell as much as 3.4% on Friday to briefly trade below $70 a barrel. It ended the week losing over 1% as daily Covid-19 cases in the U.K. jumped to a record, while hospitalizations surged across the U.S. Prices also weakened after the U.S. dollar rose in response to impending steps by the Federal Reserve and other central banks to tame inflation. Brent crude closed the weekly broadly steady. “We need to be ready for Covid headlines to continue driving the oil market on a day-to-day basis at least until the remainder of this winter,” said Pavel Molchanov, an analyst at Raymond James & Associates Inc. “Right now, Covid is the number one variable for demand on […]