ECONOMICS REPORT - OPEC and Oil Prices

ECONOMICS REPORT - OPEC and Oil Prices
By Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Friday, April 09, 2004

This is Bob Doughty¹ with the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Last week, the Organization of the Petroleum² Exporting Countries decided³ to reduce oil production by about four percent starting April first. Oil ministers from eleven member nations met in Vienna, Austria to approve the cut.

OPEC says low oil supplies are not the cause of current high prices. It blames oil market traders and world conditions. OPEC says oil supplies are increasing and it must take action. The organization says its goal is to keep prices between twenty-two and twenty-eight dollars a barrel.

The decision by OPEC comes at a time of record high fuel prices in the United States. In March, oil reached thirty-eight dollars a barrel. That is the highest price since the Persian Gulf⁴ War in nineteen-ninety-one.

More price increases will especially hurt the United States. This is because oil is traded only in dollars. Other countries exchange their money to buy oil in dollars. But recently, the value of the dollar has decreased against the euro and the Japanese yen⁵. Europe and Japan can buy more dollars with their euros and yen. That means they can buy more oil too. This difference in the value of the euro, yen and dollar makes oil more costly⁶ for the United States.

 
OPEC headquarters, Vienna
Experts say OPEC nations will find it difficult to cut production. They point to the fact that OPEC countries already produce one-and-one-half million barrels a day more than the agreed limit. Experts say only Saudi Arabia could greatly cut production. This reduction would not meet the cuts required by OPEC.

Also, two of the top three exporting nations, Russia and Norway, are not OPEC members. These and other nations could increase exports to meet world needs. Still, OPEC's announcement has caused changes in the price of oil in recent days.

Oil, or petroleum, is the most actively⁷ traded product in the world. The biggest oil trading centers are in London, New York and Singapore.

Oil is sold by the barrel. A barrel contains one-hundred-fifty-nine liters. The International Energy Agency records the world's energy activity. It says oil provides about thirty-five percent of the world's energy. That is down from forty-five percent in nineteen-seventy-three. But oil remains⁸ one of the most important goods in the world economy.

This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. This is Bob Doughty.

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 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。

5 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。

6 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

7 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。