Peter Nurse   

Investing.com — Oil prices pushed higher Monday, rebounding after Friday’s rout as traders digest the latest information surrounding the new Covid variant ahead of this week’s meeting of top producers to discuss future output.

Futures were trading 6.8% higher at $72.80 per barrel by 9:10 ET (1410 GMT) after having dropped more than $10 the day before. The contract was up 5.8% to $75.77 on Friday, when it fell $9.50.

U.S. The price of a gallon of gasoline RBOB Futures was $2.1133, up 6.7%

Worldwide, governments imposed travel restrictions on travelers from south Africa over the weekend in an effort to control the spread and resistance to the Covid mutation, known as omicron.

Monday’s statement stated that the variant is a high-risk area where Covid-19 rises and can have serious consequences in certain areas. The U.N. body also stressed that there remains ‘substantial uncertainty’ over the dangers it poses.

South African experts in health, however, claim that these new symptoms are mild. Moderna (NASDAQ: CEO Stephane Bancel Pfizer (NYSE: CEO Albert Bourla) Both have expressed their confidence in the ability to quickly adapt vaccines for this new variant.

“Given the lack of information on the latest variant, one could probably question the scale of Friday’s selloff and whether it is really justified,” analysts at ING said, in a note.

Adding to the increased confidence was the speculation that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) would not raise production in January. This is in response to the improved outlook for fuel demand as well as the U.S. decision to withdraw strategic reserves over the next months.

On Thursday, the group, which had previously been expected to meet, agreed to supply 400,000 more barrels daily to world demand. The group is continuing to cautiously increase its output, as long as there’s still enough demand.

“With the potential demand hit, we believe the group could take a pause in its current supply increases,” said analysts at ING. “This would be consistent with the cautious approach OPEC+ has taken since the initial outbreak of Covid-19.” 

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s data on will be released later in the day, having been pushed back from Friday due to the Thanksgiving holiday.