美元走强 油价下跌

据路透社9月24日报道，由于冠状病毒的爆发，市场担心美国经济复苏正在放缓，而欧洲新一波疫情导致几个国家重新实施出行限制措施，油价周四下跌。

疫情重燃对需求和经济前景的担忧已推动美元走强，因投资者转向更安全的资产，给油价带来压力。美元走强会降低以美元计价的石油对全球买家的吸引力。

格林威治时间06：50，美国西德克萨斯中质原油期货价格下跌37美分，至每桶39.56美元，跌幅为0.9%;布伦特原油期货价格下跌34美分，跌幅为0.8%，至每桶41.43美元。

美国政府数据显示，上周美国原油和燃料库存下降，周三两大股指均小幅攀升。汽油库存降幅超过预期，为400万桶，馏分油库存意外减少340万桶。

不过，由于疫情限制了出行，美国的燃油需求仍然低迷。政府数据显示，截至上周的四周平均汽油需求为每天850万桶，较上年同期下降9%。

数据显示美国9月企业活动放缓，美国联邦储备理事会(美联储FED)官员表达了对复苏停滞的担忧，英国和德国实施限制措施以遏制新冠肺炎扩张，所有这些因素都将影响燃料需求前景，此后油价下跌。

OANDA高级市场分析师杰弗里?哈雷(Jeffrey Halley)表示:“由于可立即交付的石油产品仍然充足，油价正在下跌。随着欧洲重新实施新冠肺炎限制措施，以及美联储要求美国实施更多财政刺激措施的呼声，人们对消费前景的担忧正在加剧，这些都破坏了全球经济复苏的前景，而全球经济复苏是油价复苏的关键。”

与此同时，伊拉克国家通讯社(INA)援引伊拉克石油部长贾巴尔(Ihsan Abdul Jabbar)周四的话称，预计将与欧佩克达成一项增加伊拉克原油出口的协议。

王佳晶 摘译自 路透社

原文如下：

Oil falls as demand growth concerns outweigh U.S. stock drawdown

Oil prices dropped on Thursday, weighed down by concerns that U.S. economic recovery is slowing as the coronavirus outbreak lingers, while a renewed wave of COVID-19 cases in Europe have led to reimposed travel restrictions in several countries.

The jitters over demand and economic outlook due to the coronavirus resurgence have prompted a rally in the dollar as investors turned to safer assets, adding pressure to oil prices. A stronger dollar makes oil, priced in U.S. dollars, less attractive to global buyers.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures fell 37 cents, or 0.9%, to $39.56 a barrel at 0650 GMT, while Brent crude LCOc1 futures dropped 34 cents, or 0.8%, to $41.43 a barrel.

Both benchmarks climbed slightly on Wednesday after government data showed U.S. crude and fuel stockpiles dropped last week. Gasoline inventories fell more than expected, sliding by 4 million barrels, and distillate stockpiles posted a surprise drawdown of 3.4 million barrels. [EIA/S]

Still, fuel demand in the U.S. remains subdued as the pandemic limits travel. The four-week average of gasoline demand was 8.5 million barrels per day (bpd) last week, the government data showed, down 9% from a year earlier.

Prices turned down after data showed U.S. business activity slowed in September, U.S. Federal Reserve officials flagged concerns about a stalling recovery, and Britain and Germany imposed restrictions to stem new coronavirus infections -- all factors affecting the fuel demand outlook.

“Oil prices are wilting as product for immediate delivery remains plentiful,” said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at OANDA.

“Consumption outlook concerns are rising as COVID-19 restrictions return in Europe, and the clamour from the Federal Reserve for more U.S. fiscal stimulus, undermines the global recovery case, the lynchpin for oil’s price recovery.”

Meanwhile, Iraq’s oil minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar expects an agreement with the OPEC+ group to increase Iraq’s crude oil exports, state news agency INA cited him as saying on Thursday.