By Mari Iwata Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Crude-oil futures rose Monday in Asian trade after the Greek parliament approved austerity measures to qualify for financial assistance from European Union countries and avoid a default. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in March traded at $99.56 a barrel at 0802 GMT, up $0.89 in the Globex electronic session. March Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose $0.96 to $118.27 a barrel. Brent crude will likely advance on European optimism, while Nymex crude will remain steady as there are few positive factors for U.S. fundamentals for now, further widening the Brent-Nymex crude gap, Tokyo-based Yutaka Shoji broker Atsushi Taira said. Brent and Nymex will likely trade in $110-$120 and $95-$105 ranges, respectively, but European share prices may rise sharply and boost Brent beyond the $120 mark, he added. Taira said the wider gap was partly due to funds buying Brent and selling Nymex. Nihon Unicom analyst Hiroyuki Kikukawa said the focus now turns to a meeting of euro-zone governments Wednesday, who will decide on the bailout plan for Greece. "We have seen this issue being discussed again and again," without any solution being hammered out, Newedge Japan trader Rikio Ishikura said. Trend-following computer trading exaggerated Monday's rise in crude prices, he added. Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for March--the benchmark gasoline contract--rose 308 points to $3.0057 a gallon, while March heating oil traded at $3.2030, 209 points higher. ICE gasoil for March changed hands at $1001.00 a metric ton, up $4.25 from Friday's settlement. -By Mari Iwata, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-6269-2798; mari.iwata@dowjones.com

Source