Heating Oil Holds Losses
US heating oil futures traded around $3.60 per gallon in early June, holding losses from the previous session, as markets continued to assess diplomatic efforts in the Middle East. President Donald Trump said ceasefire talks were in the “final” stages, contrasting with earlier remarks from Iran’s foreign minister that negotiations had stalled. The contrasting remarks followed a sharp escalation in violence earlier in the week. Further complicating the prospects of a lasting agreement, Iran-backed Hezbollah also turned down a US-brokered ceasefire proposal in Lebanon. These developments led to continued constraints on tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for about one-fifth of global oil consumption and has remained largely shut since March, pushing heating oil futures to a record peak of $4.60 that month. Meanwhile, distillate inventories, including diesel and heating oil, increased by 1.502 million barrels in the final week of May.