Oil Holds Gains Near $72 as Stockpiles Dip, Omicron Fears Abate
- Pfizer, BioNTech say third vaccine shot restores protection
- WTI steadies after surging 9% in two days on omicron relief
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Oil eked out a gain as research indicated that existing Covid-19 vaccines are effective against the new virus variant, quelling fears of plunge in fuel demand, while U.S. crude supplies fell slightly.
Futures in New York closed up 0.4%, trading near $72 a barrel, on Wednesday. Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE said initial lab studies show a third dose of their shots restores protection against the new variant. Meanwhile, domestic crude inventories fell 241,000 barrels last week, government data showed.