WTI: Investors expect Omicron version to reduce oil demand

Naeem Aslam Zaye Capital Markets

Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin prices have risen beyond the $58,000 barrier as a result of a general increase in market mood and a regression in financial markets. Cryptocurrencies have performed exceptionally well in recent months, even breaking prior milestones. As a result, organizations that are positively associated with Bitcoin and other digital currencies have increased in value, as demonstrated by MicroStrategy. Microstrategy has emerged as the firm with the most Bitcoin exposure on its financial sheet. During the recent drop in cryptocurrency prices, the business acquired $414 million in Bitcoin.

Investors should be aware that MicroStrategy currently owns around 121,044 tokens worth a total of $7 billion. If Bitcoin prices continue to rise after a brief fall during the Thanksgiving holiday, the company's revenues might more than quadruple, based on the average price paid to buy the digital assets. After MicroStrategy announced its recent purchase of Bitcoins, the company’s stock price jumped to $693, rising nearly 4.5%.

Oil

Oil prices rose after falling below $70, as investors expected that the Omicron version will reduce oil demand due to lockdowns and travel restrictions, similar to the larger financial markets. However, there have been no evident grounds for the markets to worry since signs of the new strain appear to be moderate and officials are optimistic that they will be able to regulate the issue effectively and efficiently.

Another explanation for the sharp decline in oil prices might be that investors were cashing in profits triggered by the Omicron announcement, since oil prices had previously reached their highest level in roughly seven years, surpassing the $85 mark in October. Brent crude oil, the worldwide standard, has also reached a three-month high. The most important event for oil is OPEC+’s meeting to be held this week, in which the group will discuss the risk of Omicron to broader oil markets and decide on production for January 2022.

Author

Naeem Aslam

Zaye Capital Markets

Based in London, Naeem Aslam is the co-founder of CompareBroker.io and is well-known on financial TV with regular contributions on Bloomberg, CNBC, BBC, Fox Business, France24, Sky News, Al Jazeera and many other tier-one media across the globe.

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