Omicron's impact on the market is weakening Oil prices rushed to four weeks at the beginning of the year

Oil prices are now heading for a fourth straight week of gains, and if momentum is maintained in the last trading day of the week, it will be the longest rally
since October.
There are signs that demand for crude oil is becoming strong
as global markets recover from the impact of the Omicron variant.

In early Asian trading, WTI crude fell below $82 a barrel, but still rose nearly 4%
for the week.
With nationwide crude inventories falling to their lowest level since 2018, WTI crude prices have gotten off to a strong
start to the year.
At present, the price of crude oil has recovered most of the lost ground
at the end of last year.
At the time, the decline in crude oil prices was mainly caused
by the spread of Omicron and the White House-led release of crude oil reserves.
Omicron, although it has proven to have fast-spreading properties, its toxicity is milder than other variants, which reduces the impact
on the market.

The International Energy Agency said earlier this week that global oil demand was stronger than expected
.
In addition, oil prices have benefited from a combination of other factors, including supply disruptions
in oil-producing countries such as Libya and Kazakhstan.
At the same time, investors are also worried that OPEC+ and its allies will not be able to achieve the planned monthly production increase
.

The market's optimism about the outlook for crude oil is reflected in the market's current spot premium pricing structure, with near-term contract prices higher than forward contract prices
.
At present, the spread between two contracts for December delivery and date in WTI crude oil futures has exceeded $6 per barrel, compared with less than $
3 in early December.