Oil prices slightly decreased Friday, despite larger-than-expected US crude oil stocks, on concerns that omicron variant may cause new restrictions next year.
International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $79.44 per barrel at 0627 GMT, down 0.11% from the previous session's close of $79.53.
The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $76.87 per barrel at the same time, a 0.15% loss from the previous session's close of $76.99 per barrel.
Although both benchmarks recorded slight drops, Brent is hovering around $80 a barrel which is more than 50% above the level in 2020 December.
Downward price movements were mainly driven by investor concerns about demand next year as, though less risky, the omicron variant may bring up new restrictions.
As the Omicron strain spreads, the US and several European countries have reported the largest daily increases in Covid cases since the pandemic began.
A number of cities including Paris, London and Berlin have cancelled official New Year's celebrations while Italy banned outdoor events and closed nightclubs.
The US faced high number of flight cancellations last week due to increasing number of sick calls from pilots.
Further price declines were limited over larger-than-expected drop in the US's crude oil inventories which signals a recovery in crude demand in the US.
US commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 0.8% during the week ending Dec. 24, according to the latest data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Inventories fell by 3.6 million barrels to 420 million barrels, exceeding the market expectation of a 3.2 million-barrel drop.
By Sibel Morrow
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr