美国将拍卖战略石油储备2000万桶原油

　　中国石化新闻网讯 据彭博新闻社2021年8月23日报道，在Covid-19新冠病毒复苏导致燃料需求前景黯淡之际，美国将从其战略储备中出售今年规模最大的原油。

　　美国能源部计划拍卖2000万桶原油，是三个半月前出售数量的两倍。 这些原油将在第四季度交付，届时美国对汽油和其他燃料的需求通常会下降，炼油厂会放慢购买原油的速度，同时关闭设备进行维修和保养。

　　原油价格自7月初触及六年半高点以来已经下跌了15%，因为德尔塔变异毒株的扩散威胁到经济复苏和恢复正常。 贝莱德和杰富瑞金融集团等公司都在推迟让员工重返办公室的计划。

　　美国能源部的数据显示，截至8月13日，创建于1975年用于应对紧急情况的美国战略石油储备在4个地下洞穴中储存了6.21亿桶原油。

　　8月23日，在大宗商品和股票市场全面上涨的背景下，纽约市场基准美国原油期货价格上涨近6%。

　　李峻 编译自 彭博社

　　原文如下：

　　U.S. to auction 20MM barrels of oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve

　　The U.S. is holding its largest sale of oil from strategic reserves this year at a time when the outlook for fuel demand is darkening amid the resurgent Covid-19 virus.

　　The Energy Department plans to auction off 20 million barrels of crude, twice as much as it offered for sale 3 1/2 months ago. The oil will be delivered during the fourth quarter, when U.S. demand for gasoline and other fuels typically falters and refineries slow down oil purchases while they shut down equipment for repairs and maintenance.

　　The sale also comes after crude prices have dropped 15% since touching a 6 1/2-year high in early July as the spread of the delta variant threatens to derail the economic recovery and return to business as usual. Companies including BlackRock Inc. and Jefferies Financial Group Inc. are postponing plans to return workers to offices.

　　The reserve, created in 1975 to serve as an emergency stockpile, held 621 million barrels in four underground caverns as of Aug. 13, Energy Department figures showed.

　　Benchmark American crude futures rose almost 6% on Monday in New York amid a broader rally in commoditiues and equity markets.