U.S. oil plunged 20 percent in November on fears of a new lockdown triggered by the variant, the biggest drop since March

On Tuesday (November 30), crude oil fell sharply by $2.
87, closing at $70.
57 per barrel, hitting the lowest since August at $70.
22
.
Oil markets continue to weigh the impact of the coronavirus variant, with new travel restrictions threatening a rebound in global crude oil consumption
.
At the same time, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said that there was a reason to complete the reduction early, which put pressure
on oil prices.

The CEO of drugmaker Moderna told the Financial Times that the effectiveness of the new crown vaccine against the Omicron variant is unlikely to be as good as
against the Delta variant.
Louise Dickson, senior oil market analyst at Rystad Energy, said the threat to oil demand is real, and another wave of lockdowns could reduce oil demand by as much as 3 million b/d in the first quarter of 2022, as evidenced by governments prioritizing health safety over reopening plans, from Australia's delay in reopening to
Japan's ban on foreign tourists.

Rebecca Babin, senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth Management, said it was related to crude oil because if it started putting the brakes on economic growth, it would start to see the impact
on demand.

Expectations have risen that OPEC+, a group of allies such as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia, will pause its plans to raise production by 400,000 b/d in January
.
According to foreign media survey data, the implementation rate of OPEC production cuts rose from 118% in October to 120%
in November.
Among OPEC members, Saudi Arabia and Iraq saw the largest increases in oil production in November, while Angola and Libya saw declines
.
That left the issue of insufficient capacity in some oil-producing countries in the spotlight
ahead of this week's policy meeting.

The arrival of the omicron variant and the subsequent drop in oil prices raised the likelihood
that OPEC+ would pause its monthly production increase by 400,000 b/d when it meets on Thursday, among others, wrote in client reports.
That appears to be exactly the pause envisioned when the group announced its gradual production increase plan in July, and OPEC forecasters believe that oil inventories could increase
after the United States and other oil-consuming countries coordinate the release of crude reserves.
However, OPEC+ is also likely to continue to increase supply as planned in order to satisfy the White House and avoid releasing reserves
again.

Earlier data released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed that crude oil inventories fell by 747,000 barrels, gasoline inventories increased by 2.
155 million barrels, refined oil inventories increased by 789,000 barrels, and Cushing crude oil inventories increased by 1.
004 million barrels
in the week ended November 26.
After the data was released, oil prices did not fluctuate much
.

The White House hopes OPEC+ members will decide at this week's meeting to release oil supply to meet demand, saying it is frustrating
to see crude prices fall without a corresponding drop in gasoline prices at gas stations.
White House spokesman Psaki said at a news conference that the White House is in regular contact with OPEC members and hopes they will act on
Wednesday's policy meeting.
We hope they will free up supply to meet the needs of
the market.