Oil prices climbed today as tight supplies of distillate fuels ahead of the northern hemisphere winter spurred buying.
London Brent rose 61 cents to $43.33 a barrel, while US light, sweet crude gained 46 cents to $46.68 a barrel.
"It's because we've had such an explosive rise in heating oil prices - I don't think we've ever seen such a dramatic increase in the spread between heating oil and crude," said Mr Kevin Norrish of Barclays Capital.
Gas oil has gained well over 6 per cent so far this week, dragging up refining profits and spurring physical oil buying to staunch a three-and-a-half week slide on crude futures.
The rally comes after prices plunged nearly 17 per cent from record highs in late October, as signs of building crude supplies and slowing demand growth drove investors out of energy and into financial or equity markets.
Dealers are concerned about the adequacy of heating oil inventories, which are significantly below last year's levels in the top markets of the United States, Germany and Japan.
An early or severe winter could cause a price rise with household demand for heating.
Continued mild weather, however, would give refiners more time to replenish stocks, providing a cushion against future cold snaps.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a revised forecast that winter would be likely to bring warmer-than-normal conditions in the West and colder temperatures in the East, including the heavy-consuming Northeast.