By Surabhi Sahu Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Crude-oil futures were mixed in Asia Monday, with supply risks from Iran's threat to block the Strait of Hormuz countering a bearish outlook in Europe due to unresolved sovereign-debt issues. Investors exercised caution ahead of a key meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel later in the global day. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in February traded at $101.71 a barrel at 0745 GMT, up $0.15 in the Globex electronic session. February Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose $0.55 to $113.61 a barrel. Positive U.S. economic data Friday showed the unemployment rate fell to its lowest since February 2009, lifting market sentiment, but this was quickly overshadowed by growing concerns about Greece, Italy and Spain. "We have difficulty constructing a price scenario that would carry WTI values much above $105 a barrel or Brent significantly above the $115 area," Jim Ritterbusch at Ritterbusch & Associates said. Significant developments in the Iran issue are likely only by the month-end, when Europe's foreign ministers are expected to announce details of additional sanctions, if any, he said. "In the meantime, we look for the Iran factor to preclude aggressive selling rather than induce additional speculative buying." Iran's blockade is unlikely to have a lasting impact on prices, Morgan Stanley said in a note, tipping Brent to fall to $85-$90 a barrel in the first half of 2012. The U.S. will likely clear any Iranian blockade of the Strait in a month, it said, citing military and geopolitical experts. "Alternative routing could keep the global impact [of supply disruptions] well below the 15-17 million barrels a day of crude that is shipped through the Strait of Hormuz." If the impact is limited to 10 million barrels a day for three weeks, this could be easily replaced by an SPR crude release, the bank added. "It's not about fundamentals...prices will be driven by currencies and macroeconomic developments," D.J. Carmichael oil and gas analyst Edwin Bulseco said. He expects the U.S. benchmark to average $95 this year. Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for February--the benchmark gasoline contract--rose 107 points to $2.7623 a gallon, while February heating oil traded at $3.0884, 182 points higher. ICE gasoil for January changed hands at $965.25 a metric ton, up $4.50 from Friday's settlement. -By Surabhi Sahu, Dow Jones Newswires; +65 6415 4086; surabhi.sahu@dowjones.com

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