By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Crude-oil futures continued their recent slide in Asian trade Monday following bearish comments from the Saudi Arabian oil minister and amid renewed fears that Greece might be forced to leave the euro zone. The price of Brent should fall to around $100 per barrel as current oil supply outweighs demand, Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said late Sunday, adding that consumption may rebound in the second half of 2012. "It is very important to recognize that supply today is 1.3 million to 1.5 million barrels per day over demand, which is good. It is going into inventory and bringing inventory up--that should give comfort to consuming countries," Naimi said. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in June traded at $95.43 a barrel at 0639 GMT, down $0.70 in the Globex electronic session. June Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange fell $0.42 to $111.84 a barrel on very low volume as investors took new positions in the new benchmark contract before the current benchmark expires Wednesday. Apart from two brief dips, the Brent benchmark--the most traded oil contract worldwide--has been trading above $100 per barrel since January 2011 and climbed above $125 in March. It has fallen 11% due to worries about the global economy. The Nymex West Texas Intermediate benchmark contract fell below $100 a barrel earlier this month after reaching as high as $110 in early March. "With both OPEC and the IEA expecting global oil demand to pick up later in the year, as growing emerging market demand more than offsets declining consumption in developed economies, further downside seems limited," Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen said in a note. Naimi's comments come after data last week showed Saudi Arabia pumped 10.1 million barrels a day in April, the highest level in 30 years. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it raised output by a combined 2.2 million barrels a day over the past six months. The data helped to soothe market fears that a July 1 ban by the EU of imports of Iranian crude could strain oil markets. Nevertheless, tensions between Iran and the West are likely to keep oil prices high, the International Energy Agency said on Friday. Iranian officials will meet representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency later Monday as tensions over the Middle East country's nuclear program underpins oil prices. A more anticipated meeting on the nuclear issue will take place May 23 when US, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany hold talks with Iran. Meanwhile, data by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission released Friday showed a 33% decline in long positions in Nymex crude-oil futures and options in the week ended Tuesday. "Further long liquidation should begin to meet fresh buying, as the speculative overhang now seems to have been brought back to manageable levels," Saxo Bank's Hansen said. Worries about a political stalemate in Greece continue to weigh on oil markets. Top Greek political leaders Sunday failed to form a unity coalition government that would avoid a new round of elections and perhaps an abandonment of the nation's bailout agreement. They will try again later in the day. Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for June--the benchmark gasoline contract--was unchanged at to $3.0008 a gallon, while June heating oil traded at $2.9540, 96.00001 points lower. ICE gasoil for June changed hands at $943.00 a metric ton, down $7.75 from Friday's settlement. -By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Dow Jones Newswires; +65-6415 4065; jacob.pedersen@dowjones.com

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