U.S. HEATING OIL FUTURES UP SHARPLY IN APRIL A supply shortage of number two oil in New York for prompt delivery boosted the April heating oil contract on U.S. energy futures, traders said. Crude oil futures followed but gasoline futures lagged. April heating oil ended 1.24 cts higher to 51.65 cts a gallon, while April crude settled 28 cts higher at 18.64 dlrs. "The rally was led by spot month heating oil contract, which seemed to move higher because of tigtened prompt deliveries in New York Harbor," said James Ritterbusch, vice president at Paine Webber Inc in Chicago. April gasoline was 0.28 cent higher at 53.15 cts a gallon. Ritterbusch said the market also found support from a report in the Middle East Economics Survey that said that OPEC oil output was down to about 14 mln barrels per day in the second week of March. "There was not a lot of interest to sell the market because of belief in OPEC," said Richard Redoglia, a broker with Merrill Lynch Futures Inc. Redoglia and Ritterbusch said April heating oil could continue to rally above 53 cts a gallon, while crude futures could test 19 dlrs a barrel before profit-taking stunts the move higher.