Oil hovers below $101 in Asia

Oil prices hovered below $101 a barrel Monday in Asia in light trading volume ahead of the US Memorial Day holiday. Benchmark oil for July delivery was down 6 cents to $100.53 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The benchmark contract added 36 cents to settle at $100.59 on Friday. In other Nymex trading in June contracts, heating oil fell 0.5 cent to $2.99 a gallon and gasoline was steady at $3.09 a gallon. Natural gas futures rose 2.5 cents to $4.54 per 1,000 cubic feet. Analysts said the oil is likely to remain steady during the day despites assurances from Libyan opposition about a possible resumption of oil exports and a positive 2012 forecast for Brent crude by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. Libyan opposition said oil fields located in the eastern half of the country under opposition control will resume production once it's safe to send workers to the fields. Libya produced about 1.6 million barrels per day, but output has ground to a halt during the revolt that began Feb. 15. Some analysts expect the eventual return of Libyan crude production will help push oil prices lower. On Friday, oil prices stabilized in muted trading before a long holiday weekend in Britain and the United States, where financial markets will remain closed on Monday for public holidays. New York''s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July, rose 36 cents to fetch $100.59 per barrel at the end of trade. Brent North Sea crude for July slid two cents to $115.02 a barrel in London.