FX.co ★ Heating Oil Rises Toward Record

US heating oil prices climbed toward $4.80 per gallon, approaching the recent mid-September peak of $5.20, as persistent supply concerns continued to drive the market. Heightened geopolitical tension between the US and Iran, along with ongoing attacks in the Middle East, fueled worries about potential disruptions to energy flows, even as regional shipments increased. At the same time, outages at Russian refineries and an extension of Russia’s diesel-export restrictions, together with reports that China suspended fuel exports for October, further tightened global diesel supplies. In the Gulf of Mexico, Hurricane Isaias threatened to interrupt crude production and refining activity; refineries along the Gulf Coast account for roughly half of US refining capacity, which stands at 18.2 million barrels per day. Against this backdrop, EIA data showed that distillate stockpiles — which include diesel and heating oil — declined by 42 thousand barrels in the week ended October 2, leaving inventories 12% below the five-year average.