Crude-oil futures traded sideways in Asia Feb 17, as investors shrugged off regional stock market gains and unwound bets that political tensions in the Middle East could lead to oil-supply disruptions.

"Trade ideas are getting whipsawed with the Iranians looking to move warships through the Suez Canal to Syria," Carl Larry, an analyst with Oil Outlooks and Opinions, said in a note to subscribers.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in March traded at $84.97 a barrel at 0717 GMT, down 2 cents in the Globex electronic session. April Brent crude on London's ICE Futures exchange rose 18 cents to $103.96 a barrel.

Asian share markets were mostly higher, as the technology sector supported the Tokyo market. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar fell broadly against its major counterparts, making commodities such as oil cheaper for investors.

Although political tensions between Iran and Israel, and unrest in Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt, Bahrain and Libya have supported prices, some analysts remained cautious about its impact to oil supplies.

"There is no immediate reason to see in any specific demonstration an expressed or implied threat to Israel," Peter Beutel, president of Cameron Hanover, said in a subscriber note. "But, if enough governments change quickly, it can only be a matter of time before one that is hostile to Israel and eager for headlines turns up."

Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for March - the benchmark gasoline contract - fell 33 points to $2.5414 a gallon, while March heating oil traded at $2.7750, 2 points higher.

ICE gasoil for March changed hands at $873.75 a metric ton, up $6.00 from Feb 16 settlement, MarketWatch reported.