By Yuka Obayashi

TOKYO, Reuters – Oil prices rose Monday as buyers looked for bargains, but remained wary of the Omicron coronavirus variant, and Iran nuclear agreement negotiations.

Futures rose $3.05 or 4.2% to $75.77 per barrel by 0014 GMT after dropping $9.50 Friday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude oil (WTI), was at $71.42 per barrel. It had dropped $10.24 the previous session.

On Friday, oil prices plunged by over 10% together with financial markets. It was the largest drop in one day since April 2020. The new variation spooked investors, and raised concerns about a possible supply surplus.

Hiroyuki Kukawa, Nissan’s general manager of research (OTC:) Securities, said that “there was correction buying on the view that the oil markets had been oversold last Friday and on speculations OPEC+ might take a measure towards the Omicron, potentially cutting out output.”

He said that all eyes will be on “How the Omicron affects global economy and fuel consumption, OPEC+ Action and Iran Nuclear Talks this week.”

Omicron coronavirus was spreading around the globe on Sunday. New cases were reported in Australia, Denmark, and the Netherlands.

Omicron was initially detected in Southern Africa by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is unknown if Omicron has any other transmissible variants.

According to documents and sources from OPEC+, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+), has postponed its technical meetings until later in the week to allow them more time to evaluate the Omicron variant’s impact on oil demand, prices and production.

OPEC+ is meeting Thursday and not Tuesday. This will allow for a decision to be taken on whether the plan to boost output by 400,000 barrels per hour in January will still work.

OPEC+ releases 400,000 barrels per month of oil, while reducing the record-breaking cuts it made last year.

Analysts have indicated that the group might halt increases following the release of oil-consuming countries’ stocks and potential repercussions on demand for new lockdowns in order to limit the introduction of the new type.

Talks to revive the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal will resume Monday in Vienna. Iran’s nuclear advances raise questions about the possibility of a breakthrough that would bring Tehran and America back to full compliance.