Oil in free-fall, US crude plunges 12%

Oil prices fell on Friday, amid a broad sell-off wave in the market, weighed down by the growing Covid-19 concerns.

Concerns increased around the world after a new Covid-19 variant emerged called "Botswana", as it first appeared in the African country.

Scientists said that the new variant has 32 mutations in the spike protein.

Accordingly, this would help it escape more easily from the human immune system and spread quickly.

The dollar index fell against a basket of major currencies by 0.6% to 96.1 points as of 17:46 GMT, after hitting a high of 96.7 points and a low of 96.02 points.

As of 17:33 GMT, WTI January futures fell 11.9% to $69 a barrel.

Brent January futures fell 10.3% to $73.7 a barrel.