Oil prices have declined for the third day in a row amid expectations that next year's supply will outpace demand. Additional pressure on the dynamics of the market was also exerted by the comments of the World Health Organization (WHO) that the Covid-19 vaccines may be less effective against the new omicron strain. The current quotation for Brent oil is $72.80 per barrel. North American WTI crude fell to $69.40 per barrel. Preliminary data from the WHO suggests that existing coronavirus vaccines may be less effective against disease and transmission of infection associated with the omicron strain. And the increase in the number of cases of infection with the new strain will inevitably weaken the global demand for oil. At the same time, on Monday, OPEC retained its forecast of growth in global oil demand in 2021 by 5.65 million barrels per day – up to 96.63 million barrels per day. Some support for «black gold» prices today may provide data on crude oil reserves in the United States. According to statistics from the Ministry of Energy, hydrocarbon reserves fell by 4.5 million barrels over the week, while analysts predicted a smaller volume of reduction – by only 2 million barrels.
