OIL FUTURES: Crude rises amid escalating Israel-Hamas conflict

Crude oil futures were higher in late afternoon Asian trade March 24 following mounting geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, although tariff uncertainties continued to put oil investors on the sidelines.

At 4:13 pm Singapore time (0813 GMT), the ICE May Brent futures contract was up 11 cents/b (0.15%) from the previous close at $72.27/b, while the NYMEX May light sweet crude contract was up 18 cents/b (0.26%) from the previous close at $68.46/b.

The Israel Defense Forces struck the largest hospital in the south of the Gaza Strip late March 23, following the full collapse of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement. Egyptian officials have proposed to bring the ceasefire back on track, regional media reported.

The crude oil market still found itself arguably trading sideways as investors await April 2, the date announced by the White House on March 18 for the implementation of US President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs.

"The April 2 timeline continues to be closely watched -- deemed by US President Trump as the "Liberation Day in America" when sweeping trade levies are set to be announced," IG's Market Strategist Yeap Jun Rong said.

Geopolitics have taken a backseat as tariffs-driven headlines dominate the market, although it is becoming increasingly clear that tariffs have evolved as a leveraging tool for President Trump, Vanda Insights' CEO Vandana Hari said.

"No tariff has gone ahead as threatened," Hari added, noting that they were either diluted or had exemptions in place.

"Optimism has surfaced that Trump's tariff plans may once again be more bark than bite, with potential exemptions for certain countries and a more targeted approach rather than broad-based measures," IG's Yeap also said.

The prospect of a relatively more measured approach has led to cautious optimism, though investors are predominantly kept in a wait-and-see mode as tariff uncertainties continue to plague the complex.

Oil investors are also monitoring for preliminary Purchasing Managers' Index data for March, where the market expects a lower expansion month over month.

"US numbers are under the threat of a sharp fall in US growth expectations. The latest US GDP update is due Thursday [March 27] and is expected to confirm a slowdown in US economic growth from 3.1% to 2.3% in Q4," Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank said.

Dubai crude

Dubai crude swaps and intermonth spreads were mixed in late afternoon Asian trading March 24 from the previous close.

The May Dubai swap was pegged at $72.20/b at 2:15 pm Singapore time (0615 GMT), down by 4 cents/b (0.06%) from the previous Asian market close.

The April-May Dubai swap intermonth spread was pegged at 79 cents/b, narrower by 8 cents/b over the same period, and the May-June Dubai swap intermonth spread was pegged at 84 cents/b, unchanged over the same period.

The May Brent-Dubai exchange of futures for swaps was pegged at minus 16 cents/b, narrower by 5 cents/b over the same period.