New York, Feb 13, 2026, 13:41 EST — Regular session.
- Heating oil futures edged up in U.S. trading on Friday, recouping some ground following Thursday’s drop.
- Softer U.S. inflation numbers caught traders’ attention, but new supply headlines gave them something else to factor in.
- Next up: fuel stockpiles and policy cues are in focus.
Heating oil futures in the U.S. nudged higher Friday afternoon. The front-month contract sat at $2.3977 a gallon as of 1:40 p.m. EST, gaining roughly half a cent for the day after a volatile stretch for refined fuels. Prices fluctuated between $2.3652 and $2.4180. 1
This shift is significant, with the market struggling to balance winter demand forecasts against a steady drumbeat of supply updates. Distillate traders get edgy quick when macro signals and product inventories aren’t lining up.
The U.S. benchmark distillate futures contract, formerly known as heating oil, is now linked to ultra-low sulfur diesel. It tends to track crude prices, though swings in refinery margins or unexpected U.S. inventory numbers can send it off in a different direction.
Brent crude tacked on 11 cents to reach $67.63 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate hovered at $62.84 around midday. Both benchmarks had fallen close to 3% just the previous day. “Looks like inflation is stabilizing,” said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial, pointing to the risk of OPEC ramping up production. 2
January’s U.S. consumer price index posted a 0.2% uptick from December, up 2.4% year-over-year, according to the Labor Department. Stripping out food and energy, core CPI climbed 0.3% for the month and registered a 2.5% annual increase. Fuel oil prices stood out, down 4.2% over the past year in the CPI tables. 3
OPEC+ is edging toward restarting output hikes in April, according to sources briefed on the discussions, with eight top members set to decide at a March 1 meeting. More crude on the horizon usually limits distillate upside, unless demand surges or stocks drop quickly. 4
The International Energy Agency’s February oil market report put 2026 demand growth at 850,000 barrels per day, while projecting global oil output to climb by 2.4 million bpd this year. The agency also highlighted that refinery crude throughputs dipped in January, and margins dropped again as the elevated runs seen in December unwound some of the earlier product tightness. 5
Wholesale heating oil in New York Harbor wrapped up Thursday at $2.18 per gallon, off 2.9% for the session. Low-sulfur diesel in the same area finished at $2.32, dropping 2.8%, according to EIA data. The Gulf Coast 3-2-1 crack spread—used to gauge the profit from converting three barrels of crude into two of gasoline and one of distillate—registered $22.25 a barrel, off 4.3%. 6
Early sentiment shifted after a hefty U.S. inventory bump: crude stocks jumped 8.5 million barrels last week to 428.8 million, according to the EIA. Refinery utilisation slipped to 89.4%. Andrew Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates weighed in, noting that any talks with Iran “would lead to a reduction of geopolitical risk,” and pointed out the market is “anticipating an increase in supply from Venezuela.” 7
On Friday, Washington inserted a fresh supply twist. The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control rolled out Venezuela General License 49, tied to contingent investment talks, and General License 50, addressing oil and gas sector operations with designated entities. 8
The Kremlin put out word that peace talks over Ukraine are set for next week, though they stopped short of naming a location. Russian headlines continue to sway distillate markets; heating oil prices, for instance, are still tracking U.S. demand, but Russian news remains a factor. 9
Still, this trade isn’t set in stone. A cold spell in the U.S. Northeast, a surprise refinery shutdown, or a tight diesel market can send heating oil jumping in a hurry. On the flip side, mild weather and ramped-up production pull prices down.
Traders are watching for the next big mover: the U.S. government’s weekly petroleum status report, now set for Thursday, Feb. 19, following a Feb. 16 holiday delay. The data comes out in two waves, at 12:00 p.m. and again at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. 10
