Shares of energy companies fell alongside oil futures as an early rally petered out amid fears about the spread of the Omicron variant.

Oil futures fell about 1% to below $66 a barrel, registering their sixth straight weekly retreat, the longest such losing streak since 2018.

Natural gas futures rose 1.9% to $4.13 a million British thermal units, but remained down about 25% on the week, as a combination of coronavirus fears and unseasonably mild weather weighed on the notoriously volatile commodity.

"It is too early to judge the economic impact of Omicron, but we believe most of the risks are to the downside," said economists at brokerage Bank of America Global Research, in a note to clients.

"Given lags in transmission it likely will have little impact on the holiday season, in our view. The impact on inflation and hence central bank policy is ambiguous as Omicron could both weaken demand and disrupt supply," they added.

Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

12-03-21 1628ET