OPEC countries meet on December 2 to discuss black gold trade in 2022
Oil prices fell more than 5 percent amid concerns over the new variant of Covid-19 in South Africa, which is potentially highly contagious.
At 11:40 a.m. Bulgarian time, a barrel of US light crude for January delivery fell nearly 6 percent to $ 73.45, and North Sea Brent futures in January lost nearly 5 percent to 78.12. dollars per barrel, according to data from the ICE platform.
A new variant of Covid-19, currently called B.1.1.529, has been discovered in South Africa and is considered the most dangerous to date. It has the potential to spread very quickly, say scientists who do not know at this stage whether the currently available vaccines are effective against it.
Oil is falling due to concerns about the new option and the increase in coronavirus cases in Europe before the next OPEC + meeting next week, said Anna Stablum, an analyst at Marex Spectron, quoted by AFP.
Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and their OPEC + allies will meet next Thursday (December 2nd) to determine the development of their coordinated supply of black gold for early 2022.
The administration of US President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday plans to release 50 million barrels of oil from the strategic reserve in coordination with other major consumer countries, including China, India and Japan, in an attempt to “cool” prices.
Such a measure is likely to lead to a greater supply of raw materials in the coming months, an OPEC source said, citing the findings of an expert group advising the cartel ministers.
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