The prices of crude oil dipped to $70 per barrel ahead of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting and its allies billed to hold December 2.
The Brent crude futures, an international oil benchmark, slumped by 3.72 percent to $70.71 at 2:52 pm on Tuesday.
The U.S. West Texas Immediate (WTI) also dropped by 4.05 percent to $67.12 per barrel at 2:52 pm.
The price had dropped to $84 per barrel last week, as a result of the twin effect of a new coronavirus variant and U.S. release of millions of barrels of oil from strategic reserves.
A financial service provider at UBS Paul Donovan, told Reuters that the travel constraints caused by the omicron variant of COVID-19 impacted these prices negatively.
“The economic impact is driven by fear, and by policy response. Fear is impacting travels. There are outright bans. But also the fear of being stranded which causes travel plans to alter,” Donovan said.
Reuters reported that there were rising anticipation that the OPEC alliance would stop plans to include another 400,000 barrels of oil by January, due to a weakening demand outlook.
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