For the past few weeks, the energy market has been in the eye of the storm. The loss of about 14.4mn barrels a day of crude oil output from the Gulf countries in April due to the Strait of Hormuz closure has been partly offset by draining stockpiles and other temporary reliefs. Though parts of Africa and Asia have suffered shortages, in much of the developed world — beyond rising fuel prices and air fares — life has carried on much as normal. But a crunch point is approaching. The International Energy Agency warned last week that oil inventories are being depleted at a record pace. Further scarcities in poor countries and price jumps in rich ones loom within weeks. Governments, companies and consumers need to be ready.
过去几周，能源市场一直处在风暴中心。4月份，由于霍尔木兹海峡关闭，海湾国家每天损失约1440万桶原油产量，这一损失部分通过动用库存和其他临时纾困措施得到弥补。尽管非洲和亚洲部分地区遭遇短缺，但在大部分发达国家，除燃油和机票价格上涨外，生活基本如常。然而，临界点正在逼近。国际能源署(International Energy Agency, IEA)上周警告称，manbetx app苹果 石油库存正以创纪录的速度消耗。数周内，贫困国家可能出现进一步短缺，富裕国家的油价也可能大幅攀升。各国政府、公司和消费者都需要做好准备。