IN THE NEWS - High Oil Prices and the World Economy

IN THE NEWS - High Oil Prices and the World Economy
By Jill Moss¹

Broadcast: Saturday, August 27, 2005

I'm Shep O'Neal with IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

This week, crude oil traded briefly² at a record sixty-eight dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are up about fifty percent from last year. With inflation³ considered, prices are still below what they were in the early nineteen eighties. Then, crude oil sold for well above eighty dollars a barrel.

 
 
But, in dollar terms, this is the most that the world's largest economy has ever had to pay. In some areas, prices at fuel stations are almost as high as Americans have ever paid, even with inflation.

The Energy Department said this week that crude oil prices remain very high even though supplies in the United States are growing. Oil supplies generally decrease at this time of year because of seasonal⁴ demand. Officials say the recent buildup should keep prices from being as high this winter as they might be without it.

On Friday, central bank chairman Alan Greenspan had praise for the way the economy has dealt with high energy costs. So far, he says, it has handled the sharp rise in prices for oil and natural gas over the past two years "reasonably well."

But economists⁵ at the International Monetary⁶ Fund in Washington have voiced concerns about the world economy. On Thursday, the managing director warned about the risk to economic growth in Asia. Rodrigo de Rato urged Asian central banks to use monetary policies to fight inflationary pressures caused by high oil prices. He directed his comments especially to Indonesia and the Philippines. The high cost of oil has slowed Indonesia's economic growth.

Many issues can affect oil prices. For example, on Friday, Nigerian officials ordered increases in the price of fuel. There were fears of general strikes. Nigeria is the world's eighth larger exporter of oil.

Terrorism is another concern for oil traders. But even the weather can sabotage⁷ the industry. This week, there were concerns about the possible risk to oil production in the Gulf⁸ of Mexico from the ocean storm Katrina.

However, industry experts say the biggest concern is the growing world demand for oil. The United States and China are the top two users. A report this week said China imported fifteen percent more crude in July than a year ago. Crude oil becomes fuel and other products.

There are questions about the ability of oil-producing nations to meet growing demand. Some experts believe that Saudi Arabia's oil fields may have reached peak production. This is when more than half of the recoverable crude has already been pumped out. Saudi Arabia denies that. Earlier this year, the International Monetary Fund called for more openness to confirm the supplies of the world's top oil producer.

Currently⁹ Saudi Arabia produces more than ten million barrels of crude a day. It says it expects to produce more than twelve million barrels daily by two thousand nine.

IN THE NEWS, in VOA Special English, was written by Jill Moss.  I'm Shep O'Neal.

1 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

2 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

3 inflation   

n.胀大，夸张，通货膨胀

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• The inflation of the airbed took several minutes.给空气床垫充气花了几分钟时间。

4 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

5 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

7 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。

8 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

9 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。