Crude oil prices on Monday fell by four percent over rising cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant in Europe and the United States.
Reports indicate that Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, dropped by $3 (4%) to $70.58 a barrel by 11:00 GMT+1.
While U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $3.1 (4.4%) to $67 a barrel.
At the weekend, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention said the Omicron variant of COVID-19 will become the “dominant strain” in the coming weeks.
Also, the World Health Organization (WHO) had said Omicron cases are doubling every 1.5 to 3 days with documented spread.
Analysts believed that the new cases could pose new restrictions on businesses and hit fuel demand.
