Just a week ago, oil markets were looking to hit this year's finishing line on a winning note as oil prices put up a respectable rally thanks to rampant lockdown fears easing. Several reports have shown that, despite spreading faster, the Omicron variant causes milder symptoms than Delta and even leads to lower hospitalization rates. Unfortunately, that optimism has been short-lived, and traders have gone back to their knee-jerk reaction to any breakout of new Covid-19 variants of selling first and asking questions later.