By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen Crude-oil futures fell slightly in Asian trading Friday, easing after an overnight rally prompted by gasoline supply disruptions in the U.S. and rising tension in the Middle East. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in November traded at $91.21 a barrel at 0655 GMT, down $0.50 in the Globex electronic session. November Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange fell $0.40 to $112.18 a barrel. Crude rallied 4.1% in the U.S. Thursday, erasing losses earlier in the week, as a spike in gasoline prices following a fire at Exxon Mobil Corp.'s (XOM) massive Baytown refinery in Texas spilled over into the crude market. The fire at the Baytown plant is the latest in a series of refinery incidents that have cast a spotlight on gasoline inventories in the U.S., which are currently at a four-year low. Crude prices also rose in tandem with a stronger euro, as the European Central Bank Thursday pledged to provide relief for the euro zone's troubled bond markets. As winter demand picks up for heating purposes during the fourth quarter, oil prices traditionally rise. However, the oil market is expected to be highly volatile over the coming weeks amid uncertainty ahead of elections in the U.S. and leadership change in China--the world's top oil consuming nations. "The weak economic environment will likely limit gains, and the 10%-20% price rally we usually see in the fourth quarter is less likely this year," Nick Trevethan, analyst at ANZ, said in a note. Market participants will keep a close eye on U.S. non-farm payroll data due later Friday as well as rising tension in the Middle East, which could affect oil supplies if Syria's civil war spills into neighboring countries. Investors will also watch Sunday's presidential election in Venezuela, where a victory by challenger Henrique Capriles could impact oil markets due to geopolitical uncertainty and potential delays to expand output in one of the world's biggest oil-producing countries. Mr. Capriles has said he would review oil-supply deals signed during Hugo Chavez's presidency. Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for November--the benchmark gasoline contract--fell 106 points to $2.9323 a gallon, while November heating oil traded at $3.1762, 122 points lower. ICE gasoil for October changed hands at $995.25 a metric ton, up $16.25 from Thursday's settlement. Write to Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen at jacob.pedersen@dowjones.com

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