The global oil market experienced literally one of the "Blackest Fridays" in its history on Friday, November 26. Brent tanked by as much as 11.6% on the day, dropping to lows last seen at the end of August at $71.63/bbl, while WTI fell even harder, down 12.8% to $68.05/bbl.

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The reason for the flash crash was panic selling over the rapid spread of a new strain of the coronavirus, which the WHO has officially named "Omicron". Over the weekend, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak attempted to calm the market, stating that OPEC+ does not intend to change its plans to increase oil production by 400 kbpd due to the new strain of the virus.

Oil prices moved higher following Novak's remarks, with Brent up 3.93% at $75.66/bbl, while WTI jumped 4.71% to $71.38/bbl by the time of writing. Our Brent price forecast for today is in the range of $75-76/bbl.