US heating oil futures climbed above $2.65 per gallon to late November highs as an intense winter storm sharply boosted heating demand while simultaneously constraining supply across the refined products market. An Arctic blast sweeping large parts of the US drove a broad surge in energy consumption, tightening near term availability at a time when distillate inventories and refinery utilization remain stretched. Feedstock costs added further support after crude prices rose to near four month highs, with severe weather knocking out up to 2 million barrels per day of US crude production and temporarily disrupting Gulf Coast exports. Persistent geopolitical risks in the Middle East alongside a sharply weaker US dollar reinforced upside pressure across the energy complex. However, gains in heating oil are increasingly capped as NOAA outlooks point to milder temperatures from the first week of February, curbing expected heating demand and tempering the durability of the recent rally.
