Unusually cold weather in many parts of the globe is threatening industrial production, crops and home heating. Demand for heating oil has contributed to a jump in crude prices to near $84/barrel, the highest price for crude oil since October 2008.

In the U.K., the country’s natural gas distribution company has asked nearly 100 industrial users to switch to another fuel as the country tries to maintain supplies to home heating customers. The companies asked to stop using natural gas had all signed interruptible contracts with National Grid, so presumably they are prepared to continue operations using alternative fuels.

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The main problem in the U.K., according to British Gas, is the gas transmission system, not a lack of supply. The country’s pipeline system for delivering gas is just not up to the task. The U.K. recently opened two new pipelines from the North Sea and a new LNG import facility in Wales. But obviously the country still has a few kinks in its delivery system.

The cold weather is also affecting China, Australia and Europe. In the U.S., citrus growers in Florida are fighting off low temperatures in the teens, and people throughout the country are dealing with unusually low temperatures. In Europe, heating fuel demand is up, and a dispute between Russia and Belarus could disrupt flows of oil to Europe, putting more upward pressure on oil prices.

China, too, is using more oil, but most is not going toward heating. Instead, industrial production jumped in December, and the country’s exports rose 17.7% year-over-year, a signal that perhaps the global economy is coming back from the dead.

That’s the hope anyway. Cold snaps nearly always drive up fuel prices in the short term. But the weather always warms up, and prices usually fall again. But this time, if the global economy is truly coming back, prices may not fall as fast and as far.

Adding strength to that possibility, Citibank (C) today has raised its ratings for BP plc (BP), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA), Chevron (CVX) and Brazil’s Petrobras (PBR), as well as on Russia’s Gazprom and Rosneft. The upgrade is based on an improving economy and the completion of new projects that should increase production to meet the demand from a recovering economy.

The cold weather will give way to warmer temperatures, but a recovering global economy must have energy. Oil and gas are out there, but it will be more costly due primarily to weakness in the dollar and, dare we say it, speculation.

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