By Mari Iwata Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Crude-oil futures slipped Tuesday in Asia on light profit-taking following big gains overnight but trading was sluggish as many market participants remained on the sidelines due to a lack of clear direction, analysts said. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in May traded at $104.86 a barrel at 0603 GMT, down $0.37 in the Globex electronic session. May Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange fell $0.46 to $124.97 a barrel. Market participants will likely take their cues from equity markets and the U.S. dollar until Friday, when U.S. March non-farm payroll data are due, said Tomomichi Akuta, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Research & Consulting. Tensions over Iran's disputed nuclear program likely won't have a big impact on crude-oil prices until April 13, when Western and Iranian leaders are scheduled to meet, he said. In the U.S., higher gasoline prices have resulted in finger-pointing between President Barack Obama and candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, with Obama accusing Mitt Romney of siding with "Big Oil" in a new advertisement. Higher crude-oil prices have increased the chance that developed countries will release strategic oil reserves to lower prices, Morgan Stanley said in a note. Jim Ritterbusch, president of oil-trading advisory firm Ritterbusch & Associates, said he expects talk of a possible release of strategic reserves to continue as long as U.S. retail gas prices remain elevated around $4 a gallon or higher. Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for May--the benchmark gasoline contract--fell 20 points to $3.3802 a gallon, while May heating oil traded at $3.2450, 46 points lower. ICE gasoil for April changed hands at $1032.25 a metric ton, up $7.75 from Monday's settlement. -By Mari Iwata, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-6269-2798; mari.iwata@dowjones.com

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