Fears over a new Covid variant have impacted Asian stock markets and oil prices.

On Friday, Asian markets and oil prices fell, while safe-haven assets soared, as experts warned that a new Covid type could be more infectious than Delta and even resistant to medicines, putting the global recovery at risk. The B.1.1.529 strain has been blamed for a spike in new cases in South Africa, and it has already been detected in Hong Kong. The World Health Organization will meet later today to decide whether it should be classified as a variety of "interest" or "worry." Following the discovery of the South African variety, the United Kingdom and Israel have imposed travel bans…