Oil ended the week with losses as COVID-19 infection cases rise

International benchmarks for crude oil settled lower on Friday, 17 December 2021 on growing concerns over the rising number of COVID-19 infection cases. It is reported that the new Omicron cases in Denmark, South Africa, and Britain have been doubling every two days, prompting new restriction measures to curb the spread.

Brent loses $1.5 or 2% to close at $73.52/barrel.

WTI dropped $1.52 or 2.1% to close at $70.86/barrel.