美国原油库存量持续减少，致使油价在亚洲交易时间的星期四继续攀升。但汽油库存量的增加给汽油价格带来了下行压力。
在纽约商品交易所，九月交付的轻质低硫原油价格为每桶45.88美元。在伦敦洲际交易所，九月交付的布伦特原油价格为每桶47.37美元，上涨了0.2美元。
美国能源信息管理局周三发布的数据显示，美国原油库存在上周减少了230万桶。石油库存连续第九个月减少，使得油价大幅攀升，但5.195万桶的库存量仍处于年内较高水平。
数据显示，上周的汽油库存增加了90万桶，远高于平均水平的上限。
新西兰 OM 金融公司客户经理 Stuart Ive 说：“汽油库存持续增涨，某些人便推测原油库存也会随之上涨，尽管炼油厂已降低了产量。”
美国不是唯一一个汽油过剩的国家。分析家预测，虽然中国的载客车辆销量很大，但其汽油产量将在年内超过需求量。
“对于炼油厂来说，这意味着利润空间更小。但中国的原油进口量不会突然减少，因为该国的基础需求仍在。”山东 SCI 国际集团分析家高健如是说。
一名北京中石油交易员说道，很多中国的炼油厂，尤其是“茶壶”炼油厂正在不断开拓农村渠道，试图建立更大的零售网络，这里是中石化等国有巨头未曾开发的大市场。
炼油厂也源源不断地将过剩的汽油销往海外市场，其中以新加坡为最，因为这里是亚洲主要的大宗商品交易中心。
但中国的原油进口市场可能在未来几个月出现熊市，因为很多中国炼油厂都在计划暂停生产，转而进行年度维护。这会降低中国的原油进口量，但却有助于缓解汽油过剩的问题。
在纽约商品交易所，八月交付的新配方汽油合约价格为每加仑1.3661美元，上涨了24个点。而八月交付的柴油价格则为1.4092美元，上涨了38个点。
在洲际交易所，八月到期的汽油合约成交价为每吨415.00美元，较周三上涨了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.
本文翻译由兄弟财经提供
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