Oil is depreciating for the first time in four days this early 2022, in reaction to US monetary policy and also to signals coming from China, which anticipates a possible drop in demand for oil due to rising covid-19 cases.

Right now, West Texas Intermediate, traded in New York, is down 0.3%, with a barrel trading at $77.62.

North Sea Brent crude, meanwhile, is depreciating 0.38%, but the barrel is still above $80, specifically at $80.49.

Oil has been rising in this first week of 2022: to this point, both WTI and Brent crude have booked gains above 3%.

"Investors are avoiding risky assets, including oil, due to the Fed's possible more aggressive stance with interest rate hikes, in addition to demand concerns in China," Will Sungchil Yun, a commodities analyst at VI Investment Corp in Seoul, is quoted by Bloomberg.