Crude oil futures ended sharply higher on Monday with gain of around five percent as Saudi Arabia's Aramco hiked prices of its crude exported to Asia and the US and amid easing concerns about Omicron. Saudi Arabia raised official selling prices for all crude grades sold to Asia and the US by up to $0.80 from the previous month. The move suggests that Saudi is very optimistic about demand despite the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Meanwhile, fading prospects of a rise in Iranian oil exports following the failure of US-Iranian talks on saving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal also contributed to the spike in crude oil prices.
Benchmark crude oil futures for January delivery surged $3.23 or 4.9 percent to settle at $69.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for February delivery rose $3.65 or 5.3 percent to settle at $73.53 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.