美国原油期货价格史上首次跌入负值

本周一，美国原油期货---西得克萨斯中间基原油（WTI）价格史无前例地跌至负值，这意味着石油贸易史上首次出现卖方必须向买方支付购买原油期货费用的情况。

A man with a face mask is seen at a gas station in New York, on April 20, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

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

美国原油期货价格史无前例地跌至负值。

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

这意味着，由于担心5月份原油存储能力可能耗尽，石油生产商正在付钱给买家以抛出手中的存货。

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锁措施，让人们居家不外出，石油需求几乎已经枯竭。

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，石油公司不得不通过租用油轮来储存过剩的供应量，这迫使美国原油期货价格跌至负值。

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.

由于供应过剩，西得克萨斯中间基原油的储罐即将被填满。美国能源信息署上周表示，截至4月10日，位于俄克拉何马州库欣的美国石油管网核心存储基地存储空间已占用大约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.

美国原油期货的基准油---西得克萨斯中间基原油（WTI)）价格一度跌至每桶负37.63美元（约合人民币负266.12元）。

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

这是自1983年纽约商品交易所开始石油期货交易以来的最低水平。

"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的能源资产分析师斯图尔特•格利克曼说：“这简直是跌破纪录了。需求冲击如此之大，远超人们的预期。”

off the charts：打破旧记录

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）的原油期货价格大幅下跌在一定程度上是由全球石油市场的技术性因素造成的。石油以期货价格交易，5月份的期货合约将于本周二到期。交易员们急于抛出这些合约，以避免不得不接受石油的交割，并产生储存成本。

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.

西得克萨斯中间基原油6月份的期货价格也有所下降，但仍维持在每桶20美元以上。与此同时，欧洲和世界其他地区使用的基准油布伦特原油期货价格也在走弱，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，油价出现历史性逆转，提醒人们注意石油市场面临的压力，并警告称，如果新冠疫情封锁禁令继续下去，6月份原油期货价格也可能下跌。他说：“我对石油公司或油价的前景真的不乐观。”

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

石油行业一直在艰难应对需求下滑，以及生产商之间关于减产的明争暗斗。

in-fighting：n.混战；暗斗；内耗

US oil prices plunge to negative territory on dual demand-supply shock. [Photo/Agencies]

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.

本月早些时候，欧佩克成员国及其盟友终于达成了一项创纪录的协议，将全球产量削减约10%。这是迄今为止达成的最大规模的石油减产协议。

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

但许多分析人士表示，削减幅度不足以产生影响。

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

陆上和海上的运力正在迅速趋近于饱和。随着这一过程的继续，油价可能会进一步下跌。

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

只有需求复苏才能真正扭转市场，这将取决于目前这一卫生危机的进展。

这对消费者有何影响？

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.

尽管本周一（4月20日）原油期货价格历史性地跌至负值，但也别指望近期加油站会倒贴钱给你加满油箱。