据3月14日路透社报道，周五石油价格接近每桶70美元，主要产油国的减产和对下半年需求增长的乐观情绪支持下，布伦特原油价格下跌41美分，至每桶69.22美元，跌幅0.6%。
美国西德克萨斯中质原油也下跌41美分，至每桶65.61美元。
布伦特原油和美国原油价格周一触及13个月高位，连续7周上涨，本周基本持平。
伊利诺伊州加里纳的里特布施和 Associates总裁吉姆•里特布希表示：“白宫救助计划和新冠肺炎疫苗积极报道，继续提高对石油等高风险资产的需求。”
欧佩克预计今年石油需求将在下半年出现更强劲的增加。欧佩克、俄罗斯及其盟友上周决定维持产量限制几乎不变。
根据能源服务公司贝克休斯的数据，美国钻井公司也在减产，自去年11月以来首次削减了石油和天然气钻井平台的数量。
PVM分析师表示：“今年下半年强于预期的反弹意味着，全球经济和石油需求前景正在摆脱新冠肺炎疫情带来的影响。”加拿大皇家银行资本分析师表示，夏季汽油价格基本面是近10年来最乐观的。
美国是全球最大的石油消费国，上周美国汽油库存大幅减少，因德克萨斯州的冬季暴风雪扰乱了炼油生产。
摩根大通分析师预计，油价持续走高将鼓励美国生产商增加产量，这最终可能打压油价。他们预计，今年美国平均石油日产量为1,136万桶，而2020年为1,320万桶。
本周早些时候，政府下调了2021年美国原油产量的预期产量。原油日产量减少16万桶至1,115万桶，降幅小于此前预估的下降29万桶。
冯于荣 摘译自 路透社
原文如下：
Oil settles near $70/bbl on hopes of recovering demand
Oil settled near $70 a barrel on Friday, supported by production cuts by major oil producers and optimism about a demand recovery in the second half of the year.
Benchmark Brent settled down 41 cents, or 0.6%, to $69.22 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude also ended down 41 cents to $65.61 a barrel.
Brent and U.S. crude ended the week roughly flat after prices touched a 13-month high on Monday, following seven straight weeks of gains.
“Demand for risky assets such as oil continues to be buoyed by the White House relief package and an almost daily flow of optimistic vaccine headlines,” said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Illinois.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries forecast a stronger oil demand recovery this year, weighted to the second half. OPEC, Russia and its allies decided last week to maintain its output curbs almost unchanged.
U.S. drillers are also holding back, cutting the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating for the first time since November, according to data from energy services firm Baker Hughes Co.
“The stronger-than-expected rebound in the second half of this year implies that the global economy and hence oil demand outlook is close to shaking off its COVID woes,” PVM analysts said.
RBC Capital analysts said the fundamentals for summer gasoline was the most bullish in nearly a decade.
The United States, world’s largest oil consumer, saw a big draw on U.S. gasoline stocks last week as the winter storm in Texas disrupted refining output.
Sustained higher oil prices are expected to encourage U.S. producers to increase output, which could eventually weigh on prices, JPMorgan analysts wrote.
JPMorgan expects U.S. oil output to average 11.36 million barrels per day this year compared with 11.32 million bpd in 2020.
Earlier this week, the government revised down 2021’s decline expected in U.S. crude production. Output is seen falling 160,000 bpd to 11.15 million bpd, a smaller decrease than its previous monthly forecast for a 290,000-bpd drop.
