By Barani Krishnan

Investing.com. Oil prices recorded their first weekly gains after six consecutive weeks of losses. However, analysts warn that the market will continue to experience volatility due to Omicron-related news as well as rate hike worries. This is despite optimism regarding energy usage in the future quarter. 

The benchmark crude oil price in the United States was $71.67 per barrel, which was up 73c or 1%. WTI was up 8.1% during the week. It fell to $62.48 in the last week due to Omicron-related concerns. This was after an $85.41 high in October that had been seven years ago.

London-traded , the global benchmark for oil, was up 82 cents, or 1.1%  by 2:40 PM ET (19:40 GMT). Brent posted a 7.7% gain for the week. Brent declined to $65.80, down from an $86.70 high in mid October 2014 and was previously at $65.80.

“Omicron is still a major risk factor,” Phil Flynn, analyst at Chicago’s Price Futures Group and an avowed oil bull, said as crude prices showed a gain of around 7% on the week after losing some 20% over six previous weeks.

Flynn also mentioned a Bloomberg report that states passenger vehicle traffic levels in the United States were back to preCovid levels. The four-week-old rolling average showed miles increased by 0.3%, which is the highest rate since March 2020.  “Omicron may – or may not – change the trend,” Flynn said, referring to a quote in that story

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that almost 80% of Omicron cases were full-vaccinated. One third had even been given a booster. These findings further complicated efforts to fight the Covid variant.

Global health experts, including top U.S. virologist and White House adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, say the effects of the Omicron appeared to be less severe than initially thought.​​ Pfizer BioNTech, (NYSE:), and the company that is its partner have said they could use three doses to neutralize this variant.

But news on Thursday also showed the Omicron was 4.2 times more transmissible than Covid’s Delta variant, which led to a resurgence in hospitalization and deaths around the world. What’s not known is the fatality rate of the new strain, though its spread rate was enough to stoke fear.

The virus aside; fears that the Federal Reserve may increase its interest rate by the beginning of the next quarter compared to mid- or late-2022 were still weighing on financial markets.

The U.S. Consumer Prices increased 6.8% from November to keep up with the frenetic growth that followed the fast expansion of almost forty years ago.

For the purpose of determining the time frame for the first rate rise after the pandemic, U.S. unemployment and inflation are being closely monitored by the Federal Reserve. Rates were kept at zero to 0.25% following the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020.

The U.S. Jobless Claims fell to 184,000, which is the lowest level in over 50 years. It was a sign of a resurgence in employment after the pandemic.