Crude oil futures fell as Libyan production resumed amid concerns about demand

On Monday (January 10), international crude oil futures fell as the rapid spread of the Omicron variant around the world raised concerns about demand; Libyan production resumed growth
after pipeline repairs.
This helped offset concerns about
reduced crude supplies from Kazakhstan.

By the close, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) February contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) closed down $0.
67, or 0.
9 percent, at $78.
23 a barrel
.

Brent crude for March, the global benchmark, fell $0.
88, or 1.
1 percent, to settle at $80.
87 a barrel
.

In early trading, both benchmark crude futures rose about
$0.
50.

U.
S.
stocks fell as Omicron concerns intensified, and oil prices also retreated
from morning highs, analysts said.

Libya said crude oil production was increasing after last week's maintenance of the crude pipeline, which also weighed on oil prices
.

Global equity markets fell again on Monday (Jan.
10), with US 10-year yields hitting a two-year high as investors reduced their exposure to risky assets as soon as investors bet that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates as soon as March
.

International crude oil prices rose 5% last week, extending the strength of more than 50% in 2021, mainly due to the risk premium from geopolitical tensions, protests in Kazakhstan disrupting crude oil production and train transportation in the country, resulting in disruption of production at the country's largest oil field, the Tengiz field; Pipeline maintenance in Libya has led to a drop in the country's crude oil production to 729,000 b/d from a peak of 1.
3 million b/d
in 2020.

On Sunday (Jan.
9), Kazakhstan's Tengiz Chevron (TCO) said it was gradually increasing production to normal levels after protests in recent days limited production from the Tengiz field
.

Libya's crude oil production also increased
on Monday (Jan.
10).

Holdings data from the U.
S.
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) showed that funds slightly reduced their crude oil holdings last week
.
As of January 4, 2022, speculative funds held a net long position of 266,377 contracts in the WTI crude oil futures and options market in New York, down 463 contracts
from a week ago.
Last week it was a net buy of 16,470 lots
.