Closing prices for crude oil, gold and other commodities

Benchmark U.S. crude oil for February delivery rose $1.61 to $85.43 a barrel Tuesday. Brent crude for March delivery rose $1.03 to $87.51. a barrel.

Wholesale gasoline for February delivery rose 1 cent to $2.43 a gallon. February heating oil rose 4 cents to $2.67 a gallon. February natural gas rose 2 cents to $4.28 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Gold for February delivery fell $4.10 to $1,812.40 an ounce. Silver for March delivery rose 57 cents to $23.49 an ounce and March copper fell 4 cents to $4.38 a pound.

The dollar rose to 114.61 Japanese yen from 114.59 yen. The euro fell to $1.1329 from $1.1405.

How should you be investing in 2022? It's a near certainty that the Fed will continue to pursue a more hawkish monetary policy for the rest of 2022. And right now the market is expecting interest rate increases to start in March 2022.

The thought that the Fed will take aggressive measures to combat inflation is still weighing on growth-minded investors? After all, stocks still look like the place to be.

If you're an investor looking to maximize your growth this year, you should first make sure you have a base of blue-chip stocks. These stocks can deliver solid returns no matter how the broader market goes. However, after that, you should still have your eyes on growth. And mid-cap stocks may be just the place to look.

Mid-cap stocks are defined by companies with a market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion. These companies are still in the growth phase so they're putting their profits to work in growing their business.

The recent market sell-off has put many of these stocks at attractive points. And while many of them still don't qualify as oversold by technical measures, they are offering significant upside at their current price points.

At some point the Fed is likely to get serious about whipping inflation. When it does, investors will become even more selective than they already are. By investing in these mid-cap stocks, you can stay one step ahead of whatever comes next.