美国汽油需求减少 油价下跌2%

据路透社9月3日报道，周三，油价下跌超过2%，扭转了早些时候的上涨趋势，此前有报告显示，美国最近一周的汽油需求有所下降。

上周政府数据显示汽油需求较一周前有所下降，促使交易商对看涨的美国原油库存数据不以为然，令期货价格转跌。

芝加哥Price Futures Group高级分析师Phil Flynn表示："市场试图将该数据视为与风暴有关的一次性数据。尽管风暴可能夸大了这些数字，但它不能证明抛售是合理的。”

原油库存USOILC=ECI上周减少940万桶，至4.984亿桶，降幅远超路透社调查中分析师预估的190万桶。报告显示，本周汽油需求从一周前的每日916万桶降至878万桶。

全球基准布伦特原油LCOc1下跌1.15美元，收于每桶44.43美元，跌幅为2.5%，此前两天价格上涨。美国西德克萨斯中质原油期货结算价下跌1.25美元，至每桶41.51美元，跌幅为2.9%。

其他数据也加剧了对经济从冠状病毒疫情中复苏滞后的担忧。美国8月私人雇主招聘人数连续第二个月低于预期，表明随着疫情持续，以及政府支持的乏力，劳动力市场复苏正在放缓。

油价已从4月触及的历史低点反弹，当时布兰特原油价格跌至16美元下方的21年低点，美国原油期货盘中收低。所幸，欧佩克+创纪录的减产支撑了油价。

路透社周二调查发现，随着需求部分复苏，且欧佩克+ 8月份将日产量提高约100万桶，产油国已开始向市场恢复部分削减产量的供应。

王佳晶 摘译自 路透社

原文如下：

Oil drops 2%, reversing course as U.S. gasoline demand slumps

Oil fell more than 2% on Wednesday, reversing early gains after a report showed gasoline demand fell in the United States in the latest week.

Futures prices turned negative after weekly government data from showed lower gasoline demand from a week earlier, prompting traders to shrug off bullish U.S. crude inventory data. [EIA/S]

“The market is trying to dismiss the number as a storm-related one-off,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago. “While the storm may have exaggerated the numbers, it doesn’t justify the amount of the sell-off that we got.”

Crude inventories USOILC=ECI fell by 9.4 million barrels in the last week to 498.4 million barrels, a far steeper dive than the 1.9 million-barrel drop that analysts expected in a Reuters poll. [EIA/S] The data reflects a period during which Hurricane Laura shut output and refining facilities.

Gasoline demand in the week dropped to 8.78 million barrels per day from 9.16 million bpd a week earlier, according to the report.

Brent crude LCOc1, the global benchmark, fell $1.15, or 2.5%, to settle at $44.43 a barrel, after two days of price gains. U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 settled lower by $1.25, or 2.9%, to $41.51 a barrel.

Other data also fed fears that economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic was lagging. U.S. private employers hired fewer workers than expected for a second straight month in August, suggesting the labor market recovery was slowing as the COVID-19 pandemic persists and government support for workers and employers dries up.

Oil has recovered from historic lows hit in April, when Brent slumped to a 21-year low below $16 and U.S. crude ended one session in negative territory.

A record supply cut by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, a grouping known as OPEC+, has supported prices.

The producers have begun to return some crude to the market as demand partially recovers and OPEC in August raised output by about 1 million barrels per day (bpd), a Reuters survey found on Tuesday.