US heating oil futures surged past $4.26 per gallon to reach their highest level since June 2022 as unprecedented strikes on Iranian upstream energy infrastructure and a sharp drawdown in distillate inventories intensified global supply anxieties. This record rally follows reports that US and Israeli airstrikes hit the South Pars gas field to mark the first known direct engagement with critical production assets in the current conflict. While US crude inventories rose by 6.16 million barrels to 449.3 million in the week ending March 13th, distillate stocks fell by a steeper than expected 2.5 million barrels. This supply crunch is magnified by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz and protectionist export caps from major refiners in China and South Korea. Although Iraq plans a partial resumption of exports via Turkey, the market remains focused on retaliatory threats from Tehran following the killing of security chief Ali Larijani.
