By Barani Krishnan

Investing.com – Crude prices dropped almost 2% Friday, as 2021 trading winds towards a close. However, the year remained a landmark one for oil bulls with output cuts by OPEC+ delivering the largest rally since 2016, despite threats of Covid variants.

The benchmark price for U.S. crude oil was $75.47/barrel at 13:00 ET (13:00 GMT). 

WTI increased 14% for December. Due to holiday travel and the advent of New Year, December’s final weeks are usually strong months for US gasoline and diesel consumption. Due to the seasonal gifts deliveries, trucking is very active at this time. 

WTI rose 56% in the past year. It was its best performance since 2009.

On the London-traded, Brent fell 1.8% or $1.43 to $78.13. Brent rose by 11% in the month while it rose 51% over the same period. That was Brent’s biggest rally since 2016.

Friday’s dip was more of profit taking and year-end book squaring after a week of substantive gains that saw WTI rising from the pre-Christmas low of $72.27 to the current session high of $77.06, said John Kilduff, founding partner at Again Capital, an energy hedge fund in New York.

“Some might also see this dip as an opportunity to buy ahead of next week’s OPEC+ meeting, where more jawboning will take place among those attending to push the market higher,” Kilduff said.

On Jan. 4, OPEC+ (23-nation group) met to approve a 400,000-barrel-per-day increase of February output if market conditions permit. On Thursday, Saudi King Salman called on all oil producers to stick with the alliance’s output caps and recommendations to ensure market stability.

While 2021 has been a banner year for oil, it hasn’t been without its challenges. WTI dropped below $65 for four months in November after reaching a high of over $85 in October, a seven year-high. The reason? Concerns about Omicron virus. 

However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) have assured Americans this week that Omicron, a lesser risky strain of the coronavirus, is less dangerous than either the Delta or original Covid-19 strain, particularly for those who are currently vaccinated. 

On Friday, data showed that the United States had an average of 316,000 cases per day. This is nearly four times more than a month earlier.

The data does not indicate how many infected people were unvaccinated. The CDC also shows that 61% more Americans are fully vaccinated than the rest of America and 32% have had boosters.