- There have been nearly three weeks since the U.S. government unveiled an internationally coordinated release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves, but so far, there’s been little follow-through from the other five nations (Bloomberg)
- President Biden announced late last month that the U.S. would release 50 MMBbl from the SPR and that the move would be in parallel with other nations
- The sharp drop in prices at the end of November may have reduced the urgency to act quickly for other participants
- Oil futures were down slightly Monday morning as Omicron fears still persist
- U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the country faces an emergency from Omicron and declined to rule out further restrictions to contain it (BBG)
- “Risk-reward is not attractive, with the Omicron spread in the initial phase,” said Helge Andre Martinsen, senior oil analyst at DNB Bank ASA in Oslo