Oil rebounds by almost 5% on Omicron hopes, Iran talks

Brent crude rose US$3.20, or 4.6%, to settle at $73.08 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $3.23, or 4.9%, to settle at $69.49 a barrel. Last week, both benchmarks fell for a sixth week in a row.(File pic shows an oil complex in Iran)

NEW YORK: Oil prices climbed by nearly 5% on Monday on hopes the Omicron coronavirus variant would have a less damaging economic impact if its symptoms proved mostly mild and as some OPEC member countries signaled confidence in the market.

Reports in South Africa said Omicron cases there had only shown mild symptoms and the top U.S. infectious disease official, Anthony Fauci, told CNN "it does not look like there's a great degree of severity" so far.