MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil futures posted sharp losses in London trading Nov. 30 as the World Health Organization said the new omicron variant poses a high global risk, and a major pharmaceuticals company said currently available COVID-19 vaccines are less effective against it, reported S&P Global.
At 1200 GMT Nov. 30, ICE January Brent crude futures was down USD2.36/b from the previous settlement at USD71.08/b while the NYMEX January WTI futures contract was down USD1.91/b at USD68.04/b.
Oil prices posted losses once again and almost completely eliminated the partial gains of the previous day, bringing current levels close to the Nov. 26 close. The main trigger for the more bearish sentiment was comments made by Moderna's chief regarding current vaccines' efficacy being limited against the omicron variant, adding that development and production of a more effective version could take months.
All financial and physical markets, particularly in Europe, reacted strongly to the comments, with sharp losses observed across asset classes once again.
The FTSE 100 was observed trading at GBP7,024 during the late morning session, down 1.20% from the previous close, while the Stoxx 600 index was at Eur460.76, down 1.39% day on day.
At the same time, all eyes were on the OPEC+ meeting Dec. 2, which could decide not to increase further crude supply temporarily according to the previously decided levels.
The market had already showed concerns over the previous weeks regarding a potential oversupply in 2022, while demand forecasts could have been too bullish, contributing as well to the recent pressure for oil prices.
We remind that, as MRC informed before, earlier this month, TotalEnergies and Daimler Truck AG signed an agreement on their joint commitment to the decarbonization of the road freight in the European Union. The partners will collaborate in the development of ecosystems for heavy-duty trucks running on hydrogen, with the intent to demonstrate the attractiveness and effectiveness of trucking powered by clean hydrogen and the ambition to play a lead role in kickstarting the rollout of hydrogen infrastructure for transportation.
We also remind that TotalEnergies has recently inaugurated the extension of Synova in Normandy, the French leader in recycled polypropylene (PP) production. TotalEnergies is therefore doubling its mechanical recycling production capacity for recycled polymers, to meet growing demand for sustainable polymers from customers, such as Automotive Manufacturer (Auto OEM) and the construction industry.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,138,510 tonnes in January-September 2021, up by 30% year on year. Supply of propylene homopolymer (homopolymer PP) and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding statistical copolymers of propylene (PP random copolymers) decreased significantly.
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