Investing.com – Oil was up Tuesday morning in Asia, after rebounding almost 5% the day before. Concerns about the omicron COVID-19 variant’s impact on fuel demand receded, while talks to revive an Iranian nuclear deal hit a snag. Brent oil futures were up 0.36% to $73.34 by 10:22 PM ET (3:22 AM GMT) and WTI futures gained 0.63% to $69.93. Ntsakisi Maluleke, a public health specialist in South Africa’s Gauteng province said over the weekend that patients with the new omicron COVID-19 variant had only shown mild symptoms. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci also said, "it does not look like there's a great degree of severity" so far.