By Surabhi Sahu Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Crude-oil futures were mixed in Asia Tuesday amid supply risks in the Middle East and a bearish outlook in Europe due to unresolved sovereign debt issues, though volumes were thin due to the year-end holiday season. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in February traded at $99.51 a barrel at 0642 GMT, down $0.17 in the Globex electronic session. February Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose $0.14 to $108.10 a barrel. Data from the U.S. bolstered sentiment in equities and hence crude markets, with the Labor Department Thursday saying new jobless claims fell to the lowest level since April 2008. Sustaining share prices could prove more challenging this week amid year-end position squaring and a relatively light U.S. economic calendar, with weakness likely to spill over to the oil market, said Jim Ritterbusch at Ritterbusch & Associates. "We will be looking for a renewed...downdraft" for the benchmark U.S. contract that could carry prices back to the $95-$96 area, he said. ICE Brent may gain in the coming sessions due to supply risks from the Middle East, including an outbreak of violence in Iraq and prospects for increased international sanctions against Iran, said Tokyo-based trader, who put immediate resistance at $110/barrel. A closure of the Strait of Hormuz due to escalating geopolitical tensions could disrupt shipments of almost 12 million barrels a day, Johannes Benigni, managing director at JBC Energy GmbH, said in a note. "In a situation where a blockade for up to two weeks is assumed, a massive but short-term price spike would be on the cards." Meanwhile, strong demand from China amid tight U.S. inventories will likely support crude, a second Tokyo-based trader said. In November, China's monthly crude imports were the second-highest ever at 5.54 million barrels a day, customs data showed, while U.S. Energy Information Administration data show U.S. crude inventories fell by 10.6 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 16, marking the largest weekly drop in more than a decade. Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for January--the benchmark gasoline contract--fell 54 points to $2.6818 a gallon, while January heating oil traded at $2.8969, 62 points higher. ICE gasoil for January changed hands at $917.75 a metric ton, up $3.25 from Monday's settlement. -By Surabhi Sahu, Dow Jones Newswires; +65 6415 4086; surabhi.sahu@dowjones.com

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