Oil prices spiked higher Tuesday, bolstered by expectations that heating fuel demand would jump as arctic weather blasted through parts of the United States, the world's top energy consumer.

The likelihood of prolonged cold temperatures were expected to be reflected in heating oil stock draws when the U.S. inventory report is published Wednesday. Vienna's PVM Oil Associates predicted a 3.3 million-barrel drop in distillate inventories, even while forecasting increases in crude and gasoline supplies.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery jumped 46 cents to $59.203 a barrel in midday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after rising as high as $59.99 a barrel in electronic trading. The contract on Monday slipped 28 cents to settle at $58.74 a barrel.

Oil hasn't traded above $59 a barrel since the first trading day of the year, Jan. 3, when crude fell from above $60 a barrel to settle at $58.32.

"The overall market sentiment is much more bullish now. The cold weather (in the U.S.) has helped the oil market find a floor and that has brought the investors back in," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.