Hijjah 17, 1431, Nov 23, 2010, SPA -- Oil prices fell to near $81 a barrel Tuesday in Asia, the Associated Press reported. Benchmark oil for January delivery was down 50 cents to $81.24 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 24 cents to settle at $81.74 on Monday. In other Nymex trading in December contracts, heating oil fell 1 cent at $2.26 a gallon and gasoline dropped 2 cents to $2.13 a gallon. Natural gas slid 1.1 cents $4.26 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, Brent crude dropped 58 cents to $83.38 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.