Flights canceled, oil prices dropping

Very rapid changes in schedules and flight cancellations could have led to a drop in oil prices. Sunday is the third day when airlines from all over the world are canceling flights. In the United States alone, more than two thousand were canceled over the holiday weekend. Airlines say the main reason is the rapid spread of the omicron variant that infects crew members.

China announced the highest daily increase in local coronavirus cases in 21 months. In the city of Xian, the number of infections has more than doubled. Information on the troubles of the aviation industry and the rapid spread of the omicron may have contributed to the decline in WTI crude oil prices, on Monday morning we recorded around USD 73,5 per barrel.

On January 4, an important decision on the oil market

On the other hand, raw material prices still seem high enough for countries to coordinate the release of strategic reserves to contain price increases. Japan has already reached deep stocks with South Korea announcing a release in January of 3,17 million barrels.

Markets are waiting for the next meeting OPEC +to be held on January 4. The group is then to decide whether to continue the planned production increase by 400 tonnes. barrels per day in February.

Omikron drives the rise in gold prices?

Gold prices remained above $ 1800 an ounce on Monday. The dollar and US government bond yields did not appreciate despite good economic data from the US and sustained inflation. The US economy grew at a rate of 2,3 percent in the third quarter, against previous estimate of 2,1 percent, the Commerce Department reported. The Fed-preferred inflation PCE index rose 5,7 percent in November, reaching the highest level since 1982 and reinforcing expectations that heightened inflation is likely to continue.

Gold, which is a hedge against inflation and market uncertainty in the investing world, may rise with the number of omicron infections. In the US, the number of new daily cases of a new mutation already exceeds the peak wave data associated with the delta mutation.