oil futures declined on monday with us benchmark prices posting a modest loss as traders continued to monitor the impact of the omicron variant of the coronavirus on global economic activity and demand for energy the us federal reserve is also scheduled to make an announcement on monetary policy on wednesday if the fed gets too aggressive it can slow the economy but i think those fears are a bit overplayed said phil flynn senior market analyst at the price futures group for now its likely more of a worry trade for oil because of weakness in stocks he said january west texas intermediate crude clf22 fell 38 cents or 05 to settle at 7129 a barrel on the new york mercantile exchange following a climb of 1 on friday