据路透社2月1日报道，周一，油价在疲软开局后，出现小幅上涨，仍保持了过去三个月的涨幅。
格林尼治标准时间02：33，布伦特原油期货价格上涨10美分，至每桶55.14美元；美国西德克萨斯中质原油期货价格上涨1美分，至每桶52.21美元。这两个基准指数在1月都上涨了近8%。
石油价格上涨的原因在于疫苗接种计划的推进和沙特阿拉伯等主要产油国的减产。然而，新型冠状病毒的出现，新冠肺炎病例的增多，加上疫苗推进速度低于预期，削弱了人们对新冠肺炎疫情即将结束的乐观期待，使得油价承压。
尽管如此，随着更多疫苗在试验中获得成功，一些地区感染率的逐渐下降，以及世界上更多人接种新冠疫苗，市场对石油和燃料的需求或将增加。
FitchSolutions在一份研究报告中表示：“以亚太和北美为主导，需求将全面复苏。欧洲和拉丁美洲稍有落后，这在很大程度上反映了这些地区主要市场的经济复苏放缓。”
路透社调查显示，在今年年底经济复苏加速前，大部分时间的油价或将维持在当前水准附近。
值得一提的是，美国石油和天然气钻井公司正为需求回升作好准备，随着油价上涨，新油井再次盈利。1月，美国钻机数量已连续第六个月增加。
根据美国能源信息署（EIA）的数据，美国2020年11月的石油产量大幅提高，自4月以来首次突破1100万桶/天。
朱小庆吉 摘译自 路透社
原文如下：
Oil treads warily higher amid patchy vaccine rollouts, new coronavirus variants
Oil prices edged higher on Monday after a weak start, holding on to the past three months of gains, although patchy coronavirus vaccine rollouts, new infections and the discovery of new variants are keeping a lid on prices.
Brent crude futures were up 10 cents at $55.14 a barrel by 0233 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) gained 1 cents to $52.21. Both benchmarks gained nearly 8% in January.
Oil prices have been boosted by vaccination programmes getting underway in hard-hit countries and output cuts by major producers like Saudi Arabia. But euphoria over a possible end to the pandemic has been undermined by the slow pace of vaccinations and the rise of new variants of the coronavirus.
Still, with more vaccines proving successful in trials and infections falling in some areas, demand for oil and fuels is likely to pick up as more of the world’s population gets inoculated against COVID-19.
“Demand will recover across the board, led by Asia-Pacific and North America,” FitchSolutions said in a research note.
“Europe and Latin America will lag, largely a reflection of softer economic recovery in key markets in these regions,” it said.
Oil prices are expected to remain around current levels for most of this year before a recovery gains ground towards year-end, a Reuters poll showed late on Friday.
U.S. oil and gas drillers are gearing up for a pickup in demand and as higher prices make news wells profitable again, adding rigs for a sixth month in a row in January.
U.S. output is rising and was above 11 million barrels per day in November for the first time since April, according to the Energy Information Administration.
