美國原油庫存減少 油價震盪攀升

美國原油庫存量持續減少，致使油價在亞洲交易時間的星期四繼續攀升。但汽油庫存量的增加給汽油價格帶來了下行壓力。

在紐約商品交易所，九月交付的輕質低硫原油價格為每桶45.88美元。在倫敦洲際交易所，九月交付的佈倫特原油價格為每桶47.37美元，上漲了0.2美元。

美國能源信息管理局週三發佈的數據顯示，美國原油庫存在上週減少了230萬桶。石油庫存連續第九個月減少，使得油價大幅攀升，但5.195萬桶的庫存量仍處於年內較高水平。

數據顯示，上週的汽油庫存增加了90萬桶，遠高於平均水平的上限。

新西蘭OM金融公司客戶經理Stuart Ive說：“汽油庫存持續增漲，某些人便推測原油庫存也會隨之上漲，盡管煉油廠已降低了產量。”

美國不是唯一一個汽油過剩的國家。分析家預測，雖然中國的載客車輛銷量很大，但其汽油產量將在年內超過需求量。

“對於煉油廠來說，這意味著利潤空間更小。但中國的原油進口量不會突然減少，因為該國的基础需求仍在。”山東SCI國際集團分析家高健如是說。

一名北京中石油交易員說道，很多中國的煉油廠，尤其是“茶壺”煉油廠正在不斷開拓農村渠道，試圖建立更大的零售網路，這里是中石化等國有巨頭未曾開發的大市場。

煉油廠也源源不斷地將過剩的汽油銷往海外市場，其中以新加坡為最，因為這里是亞洲主要的大宗商品交易中心。

但中國的原油進口市場可能在未來幾個月出現熊市，因為很多中國煉油廠都在計劃暫停生產，轉而進行年度維護。這會降低中國的原油進口量，但卻有助於緩解汽油過剩的問題。

在紐約商品交易所，八月交付的新配方汽油合約價格為每加侖1.3661美元，上漲了24個點。而八月交付的柴油價格則為1.4092美元，上漲了38個點。

在洲際交易所，八月到期的汽油合約成交價為每噸415.00美元，較週三上漲了2.00美元。

Oil prices cruise higher on a drawdown in U.S. crude stocks

Oil prices extended the overnight gains in early Asia trade Thursday, thanks to the continuous drawdown in U.S. crude stocks, but the increase in gasoline stocks is keeping prices under pressure.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in September CLQ6, +0.45%  at $45.88 a barrel, up $0.28 in the Globex electronic session. September Brent crude LCOU6, +0.55%  London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.20 to $47.37 a barrel.

Prices got a boost after the U.S. Energy Information Administration data released Wednesday showed the country’s crude stockpiles contracted by 2.3 million barrels in the week ended July 15, marking the ninth straight week of reduction. However, at 519.5 million barrels, U.S. crude inventories are still at historically high levels for this time of the year, said the agency.

The data also showed gasoline stocks grew by 900,000 barrels last week and “are well above the upper limit of the average range,” the report noted.

“The continued gasoline builds have led some to speculate that this will lead to builds in crude as refineries cut back on production,” said Stuart Ive, a client manager at the New Zealand-based OM Financial.

The U.S. isn’t the only one dealing with a surplus of gasoline. Analysts predict China’s gasoline production will outpace its demand this year, despite the robust passenger vehicle sales.

“For refiners, it will mean smaller margins. But China’s imports of crude will not see a sharp fall because the fundamental demand is still there,” said Gao Jian, an energy analyst at the Shandong-based SCI International.

Many Chinese refiners, in particular the independent ones known as teapots, are casting a wider retail network by expanding their sales channels to the rural areas, a demographic left largely untapped by the state-owned behemoths like Sinopec, said a Beijing PetroChina trader.

Refiners are also pushing their extra barrels of gasoline out to the export markets, mainly to Singapore which is the main commodities trading hub in Asia.

But a bearish factor for China’s crude import that could arise in the next few months is that many refineries in China are expected to pause production for annual maintenance. This could slow down China’s crude buying but also help alleviate the gasoline surplus.

Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for August RBQ6, +0.18%  — the benchmark gasoline contract — rose 24 points to $1.3661 a gallon, while August diesel traded at $1.4092, 38 points higher.

ICE gasoil for August changed hands at $415.00 a metric ton, up $2.00 from Wednesday’s settlement.

本文翻譯由兄弟財經提供

文章來源：http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-cruise-higher-on-a-drawdown-in-us-crude-stocks-2016-07-21