Oil price settles higher despite Omicron concerns

Brent crude settled up 34 cents, or 0.4%, at US$78.94 a barrel by 1:39 p.m. EST (1839 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled up 41 cents, or 0.5%, at $75.98. Both contracts traded at their highest levels in a month, aided by strength in U.S. equities.

NEW YORK: Oil prices settled higher on Tuesday, with Brent crude ending the session near $80 a barrel despite the rapid spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, supported by supply outages and expectations that U.S. inventories fell last week.

Brent crude settled up 34 cents, or 0.4%, at US$78.94 a barrel by 1:39 p.m. EST (1839 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled up 41 cents, or 0.5%, at $75.98.