By Mari Iwata Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Crude oil futures rose moderately Thursday in Asia despite relatively weak regional share prices and mixed moves in the dollar against major currencies. As the market awaits news about the European debt problem, trading was very sluggish, which can exaggerate small moves, analysts said. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in January traded at $100.88 a barrel at 0814 GMT, up $0.39 in the Globex electronic session. January Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose $0.65 to $110.18 a barrel. European Union leaders will meet on Thursday and Friday to discuss solutions to the debt crisis. The European Central Bank is also meeting Thursday. "It's tough to move now," Daiichi Shohin analyst Koichi Murakami says. He says there is a widespread expectation that "European leaders will forge some real solutions...If they fail to meet [the expectations], it will drive a selloff in many asset classes." However, calls for financial support from ECB are beside the point, Mitsubishi UFJ Research & Consulting analyst Tomomichi Akuta, said. "[The] problem won't be solved unless European countries agree to integrate financially." A senior German official said Wednesday it was questionable that all the nations were ready to agree to debt and deficit limits, as well as treaty changes allowing for central coordination of national budgets. Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for January--the benchmark gasoline contract--rose 159 points to $2.6028 a gallon, while January heating oil traded at $3.0068, 244 points higher. ICE gasoil for December changed hands at $962.00 a metric ton, up $4.75 from Wednesday's settlement. By Mari Iwata, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-6269-2798; mari.iwata@dowjones.com

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