Oil prices rose in the first session of the new year, boosted by potential disruption to Middle Eastern supply after the latest attack on a container ship in the Red Sea, and by Chinese demand hopes.
Brent crude was up 49 cents, or 0.6%, to $77.53 a barrel at 1432 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 36 cents, or 0.5%, at $72.01, after both benchmarks gained around $2 in earlier trading.
