Oil prices have edged up as traders watched for supply disruption risks in the Middle East following strikes by US and British forces to stop Houthis in Yemen from attacking ships in the Red Sea, Reuters reports.

Brent crude futures were up 24 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $78.53 a barrel by 0737 GMT after settling 1.1pc higher on Friday. US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $72.85 a barrel, up 17 cents, or 0.2pc, following a near 1pc gain in the previous session.

The benchmarks jumped more than 2pc last week to touch their highest intraday levels this year after the US and British strikes.

“There are supply risks for the market given the escalation in (the) Red Sea,” said Warren Patterson, head of commodities research at ING. “However, for now, we are not seeing any impact on oil supply. And I guess we would need to see significant escalation before that happens.”