SINGAPORE, Dec 20 Reuters Oil rose slightly on Wednesday as investors kept an eye on the situation in the Red Sea after recent attacks by Iranaligned Yemeni Houthi militants.

Brent crude futures rose 23 cents, or 0.3, at 79.46 a barrel by 0730 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 30 cents, or 0.4, to 74.24 a barrel.

The benchmarks rose more than 1 on Tuesday amid jitters over global trade disruption and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, following Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

Washington on Tuesday launched a task force to safeguard Red Sea commerce as attacks by the Yemeni militants forced major shipping companies to reroute, stoking fears of sustained disruptions to global trade.

Thus far, the U.S.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.

The Houthis vowed to defy the U.S.led naval mission and to keep targeting Red Sea shipping in support of Palestinian enclave Gaza39;s ruling Hamas movement.

About 12 of world shipping traffic passes up the Red Sea and through the Suez Canal. However, the impact on oil supply has been limited so far, analysts said, as the bulk of Middle East crude is exported via the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. bought 2.1 million barrels of crude for delivery in February, its Energy Department said on Tuesday, bringing…