Sharjah24 – Reuters: Oil prices steadied on Wednesday as investors assessed the impact of a massive spike in COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant, though the upside remained limited after U.S. fuel inventories climbed.

Brent crude futures fell 4 cents, or 0.03%, to $80.04 a barrel by 0716 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 2 cents, or 0.03%, to $77.01 a barrel.

The United States reported nearly 1 million new coronavirus infections on Monday, the highest daily tally of any country in the world and nearly double the previous U.S. peak set a week ago.

U.S. gasoline stockpiles rose by 7.1 million barrels in the week to Dec. 31, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported late on Tuesday. Distillate stockpiles climbed by 4.4 million barrels in the week. [API/S]

The surging stockpiles, which exceeded analysts' expectations, undermined the bullish outlook from investors in the previous session when prices climbed more than 1% as market participants took the decision of major producers to add supply next month as a sign of confidence that surging COVID-19 cases would not hit demand for long.