Ammon News - Oil prices edged up in Asian trading on Friday, heading for a weekly gain of more than 3% as U.S. jobs data calmed demand concerns and fears of a widening Middle East conflict persisted.

Brent crude futures rose 2 cents, or 0.03%, to $79.18 a barrel by 0651 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 10 cents at $76.29 per barrel.

Both Brent and WTI were set to gain more than 3% on a weekly basis.

"Risk sentiment recovered from the market rout in the Asian session today, with the Chinese inflation data offering positive signals in the economy," said independent market analyst Tina Teng, adding that U.S. jobs data was also bullish for oil.

China's consumer price index (CPI) rose last month at a rate slightly faster than expected, Friday statistics bureau data showed, edging up 0.5% from a year earlier in July, versus a 0.2% rise in June. That topped the expected 0.3% increase in a Reuters poll of economists.

Reuters