2021/12/21
The number of cases of infection with a new variant of the virus Omicron in Europe and the United States has increased sharply. Many European countries have tightened immigration control before the Christmas and New Year holidays. The Netherlands has closed its cities from Sunday. The United Kingdom and Spain are likely to implement more epidemic prevention restrictions. The market is worried that a new round of epidemic prevention measures will weaken energy demand. Crude Oil futures have plunged 6.8% on Monday to close at US$68.23 a barrel, still down 3.7%, the largest single-day drop since this month. Although it rebounded in Asian trading hours, it has not yet reached the US$70 a barrel mark. Oil prices have fallen by more than 18% from this year's high of over US$84 a barrel.
U.S. President Biden's $1.75 trillion economic plan has suffered a setback. If it fails to pass in the end, it will dampen the market's confidence in economic recovery and drag down the oil prices. The market is concerned about whether the OPEC+ will release a signal on production cuts to help oil prices bounce back.
歐美感染新變種病毒Omicron的個案急增，歐洲多國在聖誕和新年假期前，收緊入境管制，荷蘭更由周日起封城，英國、西班牙等亦不排除實施更多防疫限制措施。市場擔心新一輪的防疫限制措施，將會削弱能源需求，紐約期油周一曾急跌百分之6.8，收市報68.23美元一桶，仍跌百分之3.7，創今個月以來最大的單日跌幅。雖然在亞洲交易時段反彈，但仍未重上70美元一桶的關口，油價由今年高位逾84美元一桶，累計下挫逾一成八。
美國總統拜登的1.75萬億美元經濟方案受挫，若最終未能順利通過，會打擊市場對經濟復蘇的信心，拖累油價走勢。市場關注石油輸出國組織和盟友，會否釋出減產的信息，以刺激油價反彈。
Comments