Cold Snap Gives Oil Rebound a Boost With Run for Heating

(Bloomberg) The polar blast freezing much of the U.S. is driving up demand for heating oil, a boon for a crude market that until now has relied on freight to make up for the pandemic’s devastating impact on driving and air travel.

America’s insatiable appetite for online shopping has kept trucks crisscrossing the country as people stay home and keep their cars in the garage. Now, the frigid temperatures that are expected to persist into next week should provide another bump to demand for petroleum distillates, used both to heat homes and power the diesel engines of 18-wheelers.

“Without that level of demand, I think crude and gasoline prices would have sustained continued weakness, especially during the darkest days of Covid lockdowns…

Cold Snap Gives Oil Rebound a Boost With Run for Heating