WTI prices hit resistance at $81 and retreat below $80

• Oil prices fail at $81 and retread below $80.
• News that china will scrap covid quarantine has boosted commodity prices.
• The escalating tensions between the US and Russia are cooling investors' optimism.

WTI prices are turning negative on daily charts, with the US benchmark crude retreating from three-week highs at $81.00, back to levels below $80 at the time of writing.

From a wider perspective, however, oil prices remain trading within an upward trending channel from early December lows at $70.30, on track to test the 50-day SMA, now around $81.35.

Oil prices jumped on news from China

Before that, crude prices opened Tuesday session on a bid tone, buoyed by the announcement of Chinese authorities’ decision to end quarantine for inbound travelers, which has been welcomed by financial markets.

Asian stock indexes posted gains on Tuesday with the MSCI Asia=Pacific Index advancing 0.6%. In Europe, major indexes are going through advances from 0.05%in London to 1% in Paris or 0.68% in Frankfurt. US Stock Futures are also showing gains of around 0.5%.

Investors’ optimism, however, has been tamed by the verbal escalation of Russian authorities amid the Ukrainian war. Russian Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has urged Ukrainian authorities to fulfill Moscow’s demands or the Russian army will decide the fate of Ukraine.

Before that, the Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov accused the US of carrying out a “proxy war” against Russia and warned about the high risks of a clash between the US and Russia

Technical levels to watch