Oil edges lower -

LONDON, Dec 19 (Reuters): Oil edged lower on Tuesday after the United States announced the creation of a task force to safeguard Red Sea commerce from attacks by Iran-backed Yemeni militants, which have disrupted maritime trade and forced companies to reroute vessels.
Crude climbed nearly 2 per cent on Monday after a Norwegian-owned vessel was attacked and BP said it had paused all transit through the Red Sea, raising concern over supply disruption. About 12 per cent of world shipping traffic passes through the Suez Canal.
Brent crude slipped 22 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $77.73 a barrel by 1310 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude for January , which expires on Tuesday, was down 42 cents at $72.05 while the more active February contract lost 27 cents.
Though the attacks on shipping have boosted the geopolitical risk premium, "the actual effect on oil flows is likely to be limited", said John Evans of oil broker PVM.