Oil perks up on Red Sea tensions

LONDON, Dec 20 (Reuters): Global oil benchmark Brent hovered around $80 a barrel on Wednesday amid jitters over global trade disruption and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East following attacks on ships by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi forces in the Red Sea.

Brent crude futures rose 81 cents, or 1 per cent, at $80.04 a barrel by 1327 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 87 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $74.81 a barrel.

The benchmarks closed up more than 1 per cent on Tuesday as some companies rerouted vessels, with longer voyages increasing the cost of transport and insurance.

On Wednesday, Greece advised commercial vessels sailing in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to avoid Yemeni waters. Greek ship-owners control about 20 per cent of the world's commercial vessels in terms of carrying capacity.

Meanwhile, Washington on Tuesday launched a task force to safeguard commerce in the region.

"Thus far, the US-led naval mission to mitigate Houthi attacks has failed to ease broad concerns of safe passage through the Red Sea, with major maritime carriers still choosing to steer clear amid the tensions," said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG.