(Reuters) Oil prices expanded gains on Tuesday, with Brent crude trading close to $80 per barrel despite the increased spread of the Omicron variant, attributable to supply outages.
Brent crude increased by 1.3% ($1.04) to $79.64 per barrel by 1119 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude increased by 1.5% ($1.15) to $76.72. Both oil contracts traded at their highest level in a month.
Giovanni Staunovo, the UBS oil analyst, stated that support for oil prices comes from high aggregated production disruptions in Ecuador, Libya, and Nigeria and the expectation of another significant decline in US crude inventories.
The three oil-producing nations declared force majeures this month on a portion of their oil production due to maintenance problems and oilfield closures.
Meanwhile, a poll by Reuters revealed that US crude oil inventories are likely to fall for the fifth consecutive week, as gasoline inventories remained unchanged last week.
USOIL up +1.15%, CL1! up +1.43%
