reason. In April, optimism about the end of the pandemic was a factor in oil price increases. On August 9 COVID-19 restrictions in China and other parts of Asia threatened to slow demand. WTI reached its lowest level since May. Later in August WTI and Brent had their worst week since October, with concern over the Delta variant a major reason. In November, with news of a COVID lockdown in Austria and the possibility of more lockdowns in Europe, oil fell and Omicron variant concerns caused more losses later in November. Encouraging news about the effectiveness of vaccines against the Omicron variant helped prices increase for the week for the first time in several weeks by December, though increases in cases due to Omicron led to more losses. See also 2007–2008 world food price crisis Asymmetric price transmission World oil market chronology from 2003 Chronology of world oil market events (1970–2005) Cost competitiveness of fuel sources Efficient energy use Elasticity (economics) Energy crisis Food vs fuel Gasoline usage and pricing Simmons–Tierney bet Stagflation Supply and demand References External links Oil price data, Federal Reserve Economic Data Gasoline and diesel fuel prices in Europe CME (formerly NYMEX) future prices for light sweet crude, Session Overview. NYMEX:BZ is the most commonly quoted price for Brent crude oil Energy Futures Databrowser Current and historical charts of NYMEX energy futures chains. Live oil prices NYMEX Crude oil price chart U.S. Energy Information Administration Part of the U.S. Department of Energy, official source of price and other statistical information Petroleum economics Oil and gas markets Pricing Late modern economic history