US heating oil futures climbed toward $4.30 per gallon on Wednesday, nearing a four-month high amid growing concerns over tight distillate supplies. The move comes after Yemen’s Houthi forces attacked Saudi Arabia’s Jazan refinery, which has remained offline since July 27 following an earlier strike by the group. The planned restart of the facility has been pushed back from August 15 to August 30. Additional pressure on global supply stems from Russia’s restrictions on fuel exports.
These developments are unfolding against a backdrop of uncertainty in the Strait of Hormuz, as markets weigh the chances of a potential US-Iran agreement affecting the vital shipping lane. Pakistan’s defense minister said Washington and Tehran were “close to some sort of arrangement,” while a Qatari official cited by Al Jazeera noted that talks between Iran and Oman had reached an advanced stage. At the same time, US refiners are running crude at the fastest seasonal rate since 2018, even though total refining capacity has declined by 600,000 barrels per day over that period.
