美国宣布原油供应过剩的情况略有缓和，原油价格便飙升至五个月以来的最高点，交易员们从中赚了不少，而在亚洲时间周四早间，油价开始下跌，并逐渐趋于平稳。
在纽约商品交易所，六月交付的轻质低硫原油期货上涨了0.08美元，达到每桶43.88美元。在伦敦ICE交易所，六月交付的布伦特原油上涨了0.07美元，达到每桶45.87美元。
交易员们还在关注美国原油储存、馏分油库存以及国内产量时，油价已在一夜之间暴涨。
馏分油包含燃料油和柴油，截至4月15日，其库存量已跌至360万桶。这足以平衡额外增加的210万桶原油库存，而石油总库存已跌破12月以来的最低值。
美国能源信息管理局的数据显示，美国原油产量连续第六周下跌，现已跌至895万桶。
OM金融公司客户经理Stuart Ive说：“今早亚洲市场的交易是很正常的，那些交易员都希望从中谋取些好处，但是种种迹象表明，市场正在逐渐恢复平衡。”
近两年来，持续的供应过剩导致油价不断下跌，而近两周热议的削减石油产量使得交易员变得格外敏感。虽然上周没有达成冻产协议，但油价仍在不断攀升。
除了美国减产的因素，交易员们也期望伊拉克、尼日利亚、北海等其他地区的石油供应中断，从而吸收过剩的石油。
村野证券亚洲石油天然气部门主管Gordon Kwan说道：“再加上北美、南美以及欧洲的持续减产，全球供应过剩的情况将会有所缓解，并在2017年下半年出现供不应求的情况。”
虽然石油供应在逐渐减少，但需求增长过慢也限制了油价上涨。国际能源署预计2016年全球石油需求将增加到每天120万桶，这个数字低于去年预测的180万桶。
OptionsXpress市场分析家Ben Le Brun表示：“我们需要产量降低更多，需求增长更快，这样才能抑制住不断增长的库存，而实现这一目标需要多长时间仍未可知。”
市场观察者都将视线集中在周四的欧洲央行政策会议上。投资者普遍认为央行会将利率维持在当前的历史最低水平。中国发布了三月的最终交易数据，其中第一季度的原油进口量同比增长13.4%。
纽约商品交易所五月交付的精制汽油合约下跌了29个点，达到每加仑1.5039美元，而五月到期的柴油成交价为1.3259美元，下跌了63个点。
五月到期的ICE汽油的成交价为每吨395.5美元，较周三上涨了8.75美元。
Oil steadies after supply data triggers spike to five-month highs
Crude oil prices lost ground in early Asia trade Thursday as traders took profit after prices surged to a five-month high on the heels of U.S. data that suggested the global glut of oil is dwindling.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in June CLM6, +0.61% traded at $43.88 a barrel, up $0.08 in the Globex electronic session. June Brent crude LCOM6, +0.68% on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.07 to $45.87 a barrel.
Oil prices jumped overnight as traders looked past the growth in U.S. crude stocks and focused on the decline in distillates inventories and domestic production.
Distillate stocks, which include heating oil and diesel, fell by nearly 3.6 million barrels in the week ended April 15, when analysts expected no change. It was enough to balance out an addition of 2.1-million barrel to crude stockpiles and send total oil and petroleum stockpiles lower for only the sixth time in 24 weeks dating back to the start of November.
Data from the Energy Information Administration also showed the U.S. production of crude fell for the sixth straight week to 8.95 million barrels in the same week.
“It is only natural some traders in early Asia trade are looking to take profit but there are many positive signs that the market is starting to rebalance,” said Stuart Ive, a client manager at OM Financial.
Persistent oversupply has dragged oil prices down for nearly two years but signs of declining production has boosted sentiment in recent weeks. Prices edged higher even after a group of key producers failed to clinch an output freeze agreement last week.
Apart from the slowing production in the U.S., traders are also expecting supply outages elsewhere in the world such as Iraq, Nigeria, and the North Sea to further mop up excess supply. China’s crude production is also expected to fall around 5% this year.
“This, combined with the accelerating cuts in North America, South America, and Europe, should help to ease the global oversupply and flip into a deficit by second half of 2017,” said Gordon Kwan, the head of Asia oil and gas at Nomura.
While supply is showing signs of shrinking, the slowing growth in demand is limiting price increases. The International Energy Agency now expects global oil demand growth to moderate to around 1.2 million barrels a day in 2016, slower than the 1.8 million barrels a day expansion of last year.
“What we need is for production decline and demand growth to move much faster in order to counter the growing inventories and it remains to be seen how long this process will take,” said Ben Le Brun, a market analyst at OptionsXpress.
Market watchers will be focusing on the European Central Bank’s policy meeting later Thursday. The central bank is widely expected to hold interests steady at record low level. China is also expected to release its final March trade data, which should show the country’s crude imports in the first quarter of this year rose 13.4% from the same period last year.
Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for May RBK6, +0.46% — the benchmark gasoline contract — fell 29 points to $1.5039 a gallon, while May diesel traded at $1.3259, 63 points lower.
ICE gasoil for May changed hands at $395.50 a metric ton, up $8.75 from Wednesday’s settlement.
本文翻译由兄弟财经提供
文章来源：
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-steadies-after-supply-data-triggers-spike-to-five-month-highs-2016-04-21