2021年经济学人 能源价格经历了过山车般的一周（在线收听）

The world this week -- Business

本周国际要闻——商业

It was another roller-coaster week for energy prices.

能源价格又经历了过山车般的一周。

After OPEC and its allies resisted calls to increase output, the price of Brent crude surpassed $80 per barrel and reached its highest level in three years.

在石油输出国组织（OPEC）及其盟友抵制增产呼吁后，布伦特原油价格突破每桶80美元，达到三年来的最高水平。

The cartel said it would stick to the gradual increases in output it agreed to over the summer.

OPEC表示将遵循今年夏天达成的逐步增产协议。

The energy shortage rattled other financial markets too, as investors worried about the fallout.

由于投资者担心能源短缺的不良影响，金融市场也受到了冲击。

In America and Europe government bond yields climbed.

在美国和欧洲，政府债券收益率攀升。

In Britain the yield on ten-year gilts jumped to its highest since May 2019.

在英国，10年期国债收益率跃升至2019年5月以来的最高水平。

In Europe the price of natural gas front-month futures jumped by more than 60% in two days.

在欧洲，天然气当月期货价格在两天内上涨了60%以上。

But prices soon reversed when Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, hinted that his country could supply additional gas to Europe.

但当俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京暗示俄罗斯可能会向欧洲供应更多天然气时，天然气价格很快出现了逆转。

In Asia the coal shortage dragged on.

在亚洲，煤炭短缺的问题持续存在。

Power cuts have been reported across China.

据报道，中国各地都出现了停电现象。

Authorities there have told miners to increase production.

当地政府已要求矿商增加产量。

India is braced for power shortages.

印度准备应对电力短缺。

Half of its coal-fired power plants are on alert for blackouts.

该国一半的燃煤发电厂处于停电警戒状态。

In the euro area rising energy prices contributed to high inflation.

在欧元区，不断上涨的能源价格导致了高通胀。

In September the euro area’s inflation rate rose to 3.4%, the highest level in 13 years.

9月份，欧元区的通货膨胀率上升至3.4%，达到13年来的最高水平。

In Germany consumer prices rose by 4.1% in the same month, a 29-year high.

德国九月消费价格上涨4.1%，创29年来新高。

America’s trade deficit in goods and services grew to a record $73bn in August, up 4.3% from the previous month.

8月份，美国商品和服务贸易逆差增至创纪录的730亿美元，比上月增长4.3%。

Imports rose by $4bn from July, because of an increase in consumer demand.

由于消费者需求增加，进口较7月份增加了40亿美元。

But trade in vehicles and car parts fell, as a result of the semiconductor shortage.

但由于半导体短缺，汽车和汽车零部件贸易有所下滑。

Facebook users experienced a long outage this week.

Facebook用户本周经历了一次长时间的宕机。

The social-media platform and its subsidiaries, WhatsApp and Instagram, were down for several hours.

这家社交媒体平台及其子公司WhatsApp和Instagram宕机数小时。

The firm’s share price fell by 4.9% on Monday.

周一，该公司的股价下跌4.9%。

It blamed an internal malfunction and said there was no evidence that users’ data had been compromised.

公司将此归咎于内部故障，并称没有证据表明用户数据遭到泄露。

Meanwhile, Frances Haugen, a former Facebook employee who is now a whistleblower, testified before a Senate subcommittee.

与此同时，前Facebook雇员、现为吹哨者的弗朗西丝·豪根在参议院一个小组委员会作证。

She claimed that Facebook’s products “harm children, stoke division and weaken...democracy”, and that documents she leaked to the Wall Street Journal showed the company is aware of this.

她声称，Facebook的产品“伤害儿童，助长分裂，削弱……民主”，她泄露给《华尔街日报》的文件显示，公司清楚这一点。

In a statement Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s boss, said that the firm’s work and motives have been mischaracterised.

Facebook的老板马克·扎克伯格在一份声明中说，公司的行为和动机被曲解了。