By Eric Yep Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Crude-oil futures moved higher in Asian trading Tuesday, tracking overnight euro gains as traders took positions ahead of the second day of a European Union summit in Brussels to address debt concerns. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in March traded at $99.38 a barrel at 0617 GMT, up $0.60 in the Globex electronic session. March Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose $0.64 to $111.39 a barrel. EU leaders Monday night agreed to sign a pact to introduce tighter fiscal rules and sanctions for those who fail to meet targets, sparking some optimism among investors, though no clarity emerged on a Greek debt restructuring deal. Greece's Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, however, said talks with private creditors have progressed, and a deal on a second debt bailout could be struck within the week. Asian stock markets were also mostly higher Tuesday with stronger-than-expected Japanese industrial production data supporting regional equities. A risk premium stemming from geopolitical tensions in Iran continues to support crude-oil prices. U.N. inspectors are currently in Iran to visit its nuclear facilities and address concerns that Tehran is trying to build nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers are planning more severe economic and political sanctions on Iran, with a new bill seeking to widen existing sanctions on individuals and firms that do business with Iran or help it advance its nuclear program. Investors are also weighing downside risks from a potential decline in U.S. and global oil demand. "Given an apparent standoff between an array of both bullish and bearish forces currently available to the market, we have adjusted our downside parameter to the $95 mark while maintaining resistance at the $104-$105 area," consulting firm Ritterbusch and Associates said in a note. "We are maintaining a trading theme that global oil balances are deteriorating despite the fact that the U.S. economy has generally been outperforming most expectations during recent months," Ritterbusch said, noting that U.S. benchmark crude prices are "virtually unchanged this month while the DJII is up about 3%." Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for March was 92 points higher at $2.8819 a gallon, while March heating oil traded at $3.0588, up 210 points. ICE gasoil for February changed hands at $952.75 a metric ton, unchanged from Monday's settlement. -By Eric Yep, Dow Jones Newswires; +65 6415 4063; eric.yep@dowjones.com

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