美国国家公共电台 NPR--Gas prices have dropped $1 in a little over a month. What's driving the dip?

Gas prices have dropped $1 in a little over a month. What's driving the dip?

Transcript¹

AAA reports the average price of gas in the United States has fallen below $4 a gallon. That's a sharp drop from an average of $5 a gallon just a little over a month ago.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The national average for a gallon of gas has dropped below $4, according to AAA.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

It's a sharp drop from where prices were a little over a month ago, when the average hit $5 for the first time ever.

MART?NEZ: For more on where gas prices may be headed, we're joined by NPR's Arezou Rezvani, who covers oil and energy markets. All right. So gas prices have fallen a whole dollar in just a little over a month. What is driving this?

AREZOU REZVANI, BYLINE²: So it all boils down to good old supply and demand. Global oil prices are down because demand is down. And you can see this here in the U.S. I mean, earlier this summer, when gas prices hit an all-time high, consumer demand cooled off. People stopped filling up their tanks like they once did. Some changed their summer travel plans, maybe postponed³ that cross-country road trip. So that's one side of it. The other side involves oil supply. The U.S. released a lot of oil from its emergency reserves. And oil producers have been capitalizing on higher oil prices by increasing production. So that's why we're seeing gas prices drop so much so fast.

MART?NEZ: All right, going to keep my fingers crossed here. Does this mean all gas prices are going to continue to drop? Or what are we looking at here?

REZVANI: So analysts⁵ I've spoken with say, yes, prices will continue to drop, at least for the short term. But longer term, the picture is a bit more complicated. I spoke⁶ with Patrick De Haan. He's an analyst⁴ with GasBuddy. And he says prices will probably drop another 20 to $0.30 in the coming weeks. But he's keeping a close eye on weather forecasts. Here's what he told me.

PATRICK DE HAAN: As we progress through August, we do start to see more tropical activity in the latter half of the month and into September. So there's certainly a risk of disruption moving forward.

REZVANI: So if there is a big storm that hits, something on the scale of a Hurricane Harvey that swept across the oil-rich region of Louisiana and Texas back in 2017, which knocked out 20% of refining capacity for some time, that could suddenly swing prices back up again.

MART?NEZ: All right. I'll be keeping an eye out on hurricane season. Any other factors at play, though?

REZVANI: Yeah. So geopolitics is another pretty big factor in all of this. Russia's war in Ukraine is, of course, still grinding on. And despite sanctions, some countries are still buying Russian oil. It is still on the market. There are more sanctions against Russia on the way. And there's no telling how Russia will react to that, you know, if they'll withhold⁷ gas and oil supplies or keep them flowing. What's also unclear is what certain countries that depend on Russia will do, especially as it starts getting colder. Will they turn to other oil suppliers? Will there be a greater squeeze on the rest of the global oil market? You know, all of this could potentially impact supply, demand and, ultimately, again, could impact prices.

MART?NEZ: Yeah. But what about OPEC? I mean, it was just a few weeks ago that President Biden was in Saudi Arabia, where he pushed Gulf⁸ nations to increase oil production. I mean, what came of that?

REZVANI: You know, not much. OPEC+ did announce a small increase in production. But it was seen more as a token gesture. And there are doubts they will increase oil production by much more. This oil cartel benefits from high oil prices. And so they're wary⁹ of overproducing, especially when there are doubts about where the global economy is headed.

MART?NEZ: All right. But what about here at home? What could influence gas prices?

REZVANI: Well, it all depends on whether Americans start filling up again. Right now, we're not seeing signs of that. People seem to be holding back because there's still quite a bit of anxiety around inflation, the overall state of the economy and the possibility of a recession.

MART?NEZ: NPR's Arezou Rezvani. Thanks a lot.

REZVANI: You're welcome.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 withhold   

v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡

参考例句：

• It was unscrupulous of their lawyer to withhold evidence.他们的律师隐瞒证据是不道德的。
• I couldn't withhold giving some loose to my indignation.我忍不住要发泄一点我的愤怒。

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 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。