Nov 26 – Oil prices plunged more than 10% on Friday, the largest one-day drop since April 2020, as a new COVID-19 variant spooked investors and added to concerns that a supply surplus could swell in the first quarter.
Oil fell with global equities markets on fears the variant could dampen economic growth and fuel demand. Britain and European countries have restricted travel from southern Africa, where the variant was detected. read more
Brent crude fell $8.77, or 10.7%, to $73.45 a barrel by 10:59 a.m. EDT (1459 GMT).
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U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down $9.12, or 11.6%, at $69.27 a barrel, after Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday in the United States.
Both contracts are heading for their fifth week of losses and their steepest falls in absolute terms since April 2020, when WTI turned negative for the first time.
Global authorities reacted with alarm on Friday to a new coronavirus variant detected in South Africa, with the European Union and Britain among those tightening border controls as researchers sought to find out if the mutation was vaccine-resistant.
