1) Fauci says too soon to predict omicron is an endgame
White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said that at this stage it is still too soon to predict whether the Covid-19 omicron variant will be the final outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It is an open question whether it will be the live virus vaccination that everyone is hoping for,” said Fauci. “I would hope that that’s the case. But that would only be the case if we don’t get another variant that eludes the immune response of the prior variant”.
The U.S. is now averaging more than 800,000 cases of Covid-19 per day.
2) Oil prices edge higher amid tight supply from omicron outbreak
Oil prices continue to edge higher on Tuesday as investors weighed on the tight supply amid the ongoing omicron outbreak across the globe.
The international benchmark Brent crude rose 0.39% to $86.82 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate rose 0.87% to trade at $84.55 a barrel.
Last week, JP Morgan predicted oil prices to reach as high as $125 a barrel in 2022 and $150 per barrel in 2023, expecting spare capacity of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to fall through 2022, which will drive a higher risk premium to oil prices.
3) Australian consumer confidence falls amid rising concerns of Covid situation
Australian consumer confidence fell 7.6% last week to the lowest level since October 2020 amid the spread of the Covid-19 omicron variant that sends its citizens into a self-imposed lockdown.
Australia averages 105,000 cases a day for the past seven days.
