By Surabhi Sahu Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)--Crude-oil futures fell in Asia Monday as some investors booked profits after prices jumped Friday on the back of encouraging nonfarm payroll data from the U.S., which showed that the number of new jobs last month was well above market expectations. U.S. employers added 243,000 jobs in January, Labor Department data showed, while analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had only expected an increase of 125,000 jobs. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in March traded at $97.40 a barrel at 0732 GMT, down $0.44 in the Globex electronic session. March Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange fell $0.15 to $114.43 a barrel. Sentiment in the oil market is positive due to renewed tensions in Iran and political unrest in Syria, Phillip Futures commodities analyst Ker Chung Yang said. On Saturday, Iran reiterated its threat of ceasing oil exports to some European Union countries ahead of the planned EU sanctions from July 1. Ker projected support for the European oil benchmark at $110 a barrel in the coming sessions. Supplies from Cushing, Oklahoma have been weighing on WTI-Nymex, Jim Ritterbusch at Ritterbusch & Associates said in a note. Ritterbusch expects a rise of 4 million-5 million barrels in crude supplies ahead of data due from the Energy Information Administration Wednesday. The U.S. benchmark could fall to as low as $92.50 a barrel due to an inventory build-up, he said. The Brent-WTI spread widened to $17 a barrel last week, the widest since mid-November, and could stretch toward $20 if U.S. inventory data show a rise for the third consecutive week, a Tokyo-based trader said. Still, any long-term gains in Brent will likely be tempered by ongoing euro-zone debt issues, he added. Standard & Poor Rating Services Friday stripped France of its prized triple-A credit rating and cut the ratings of eight other euro-zone nations, which is bearish for the market, a Singapore-based trader said. All eyes are on Greece now, he added. The country's leaders are scheduled to resume talks later in the global day to discuss the reforms demanded by the EU. Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for March--the benchmark gasoline contract--fell 52 points to $2.9092 a gallon, while March heating oil traded at $3.1119, 25 points lower. ICE gasoil for February changed hands at $971.50 a metric ton, up $12.00 from Friday's settlement. -By Surabhi Sahu, Dow Jones Newswires; +65 6415 4086; surabhi.sahu@dowjones.com

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