美國原油期貨價格史上首次跌入負值 US oil prices turn negative as demand dries up

本周一，美國原油期貨---西得克薩斯中間基原油（WTI）價格史無前例地跌至負值，這意味著石油貿易史上首次出現賣方必須向買方支付購買原油期貨費用的情況。

The price of US oil has turned negative for the first time in history.

美國原油期貨價格史無前例地跌至負值。

That means oil producers are paying buyers to take the commodity off their hands over fears that storage capacity could run out in May.

這意味著，由于擔心5月份原油存儲能力可能耗盡，石油生產商正在付錢給買家以拋出手中的存貨。

Demand for oil has all but dried up as lockdowns across the world have kept people inside.

由于全球各地都在采取封鎖措施，讓人們居家不外出，石油需求幾乎已經枯竭。

As a result, oil firms have resorted to renting tankers to store the surplus supply and that has forced the price of US oil into negative territory.

因此，石油公司不得不通過租用油輪來儲存過剩的供應量，這迫使美國原油期貨價格跌至負值。

Because of oversupply, storage tanks for WTI are becoming so full it is difficult to find space. The US Energy Information Administration said last week that storage at Cushing, Oklahoma, the heart of the US pipeline network, was about 72% full as of April 10.

由于供應過剩，西得克薩斯中間基原油的儲罐即將被填滿。美國能源信息署上周表示，截至4月10日，位于俄克拉何馬州庫欣的美國石油管網核心存儲基地存儲空間已占用大約72%。

The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the benchmark for US oil, fell as low as minus $37.63 a barrel.

美國原油期貨的基準油---西得克薩斯中間基原油（WTI)）價格一度跌至每桶負37.63美元（約合人民幣負266.12元）。

That's the lowest level since NYMEX opened oil futures trading in 1983.

這是自1983年紐約商品交易所開始石油期貨交易以來的最低水平。

"This is off-the-charts wacky," said Stewart Glickman, an energy equity analyst at CFRA Research. "The demand shock was so massive that it's overwhelmed anything that people could have expected."

CFRA Research的能源資產分析師斯圖爾特?格利克曼說：“這簡直是跌破紀錄了。需求沖擊如此之大，遠超人們的預期。”

off the charts：打破舊記錄

The severe drop on Monday was driven in part by a technicality of the global oil market. Oil is traded on its future price and May futures contracts are due to expire on Tuesday. Traders were keen to offload those holdings to avoid having to take delivery of the oil and incur storage costs.

本周一（4月20日）的原油期貨價格大幅下跌在一定程度上是由全球石油市場的技術性因素造成的。石油以期貨價格交易，5月份的期貨合約將于本周二到期。交易員們急于拋出這些合約，以避免不得不接受石油的交割，并產生儲存成本。

June prices for WTI were also down, but trading at above $20 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent Crude - the benchmark used by Europe and the rest of the world, was also weaker, down 8.9% at less than $26 a barrel.

西得克薩斯中間基原油6月份的期貨價格也有所下降，但仍維持在每桶20美元以上。與此同時，歐洲和世界其他地區使用的基準油布倫特原油期貨價格也在走弱，下跌8.9%，至每桶不到26美元。

Mr Glickman said the historic reversal in pricing was a reminder of the strains facing the oil market and warned that June prices could also fall, if lockdowns remain in place. "I'm really not optimistic about the prospects for oil companies or oil prices," he said.

格利克曼表示，油價出現歷史性逆轉，提醒人們注意石油市場面臨的壓力，并警告稱，如果新冠疫情封鎖禁令繼續下去，6月份原油期貨價格也可能下跌。他說：“我對石油公司或油價的前景真的不樂觀。”

The oil industry has been struggling with both tumbling demand and in-fighting among producers about reducing output.

石油行業一直在艱難應對需求下滑，以及生產商之間關于減產的明爭暗斗。

in-fighting：n.混戰；暗斗；內耗

Earlier this month, Opec members and its allies finally agreed a record deal to slash global output by about 10%. The deal was the largest cut in oil production ever to have been agreed.

本月早些時候，歐佩克成員國及其盟友終于達成了一項創紀錄的協議，將全球產量削減約10%。這是迄今為止達成的最大規模的石油減產協議。

But many analysts say the cuts were not big enough to make a difference.

但許多分析人士表示，削減幅度不足以產生影響。

Capacity is filling fast on land and at sea. As that process continues it's likely to bear down further on prices.

陸上和海上的運力正在迅速趨近于飽和。隨著這一過程的繼續，油價可能會進一步下跌。

It will take a recovery in demand to really turn the market round and that will depend on how the health crisis unfolds.

只有需求復蘇才能真正扭轉市場，這將取決于目前這一衛生危機的進展。

這對消費者有何影響？

Even though a historic decline for oil sent prices negative on Monday, don't expect to get paid to fill up your gas tank any time soon.

盡管本周一（4月20日）原油期貨價格歷史性地跌至負值，但也別指望近期加油站會倒貼錢給你加滿油箱。

While US oil prices are trading in negative territory for the first time ever, it is unclear whether that will trickle down to consumers, who typically see lower oil prices translate into cheaper gasoline at the pump.

盡管美國原油期貨價格有史以來首次跌至負值，但目前尚不清楚這是否會影響到消費者，原油價格下跌通常會導致汽油價格下跌。

The crash in crude futures prices at Cushing won’t necessarily translate into a crash in prices at the gas pump, said Tom Kloza, a veteran analyst with Oil Price Information Services.

油價信息服務公司資深分析師湯姆?科洛薩說，美國原油期貨價格的暴跌不一定會導致加油站的油價暴跌。

With recent lower oil prices, the typical American family is probably going to save about $150 to $175 this month on their fuel purchases, he said.

他說，由于近期油價下跌，一個普通的美國家庭本月可能會節省大約150到175美元的燃油費用。

"The silver lining is, if you for various reason actually need to be on the roads, you're filling up for far less than you would have been even four months ago," Mr Glickman said. "The problem for most of us is even if you could fill up, where are you going to go?"

格利克曼說：“好消息是，如果你因為各種各樣的原因確實需要上路，你加滿油箱的花銷比四個月前要少得多。但我們大多數人的問題是，即使你能把油箱加滿，你要去哪里呢？”

英文來源：BBC、路透社、CNN

翻譯&編輯：yaning