据路透社3月4日报道，知情人士称，在2019年获得强劲利润后，由于1月份需求意外暴跌，石油交易商在2020年初遭受重创，在汽油价差押注上损失了数千万美元。

由于国际海事组织(IMO)从1月份开始限制高硫燃料油的使用，预计今年全球石油行业对船用汽油的需求将大幅增加。交易员们预计汽油需求将会飙升，因此可以用它来替代含硫量较高的燃料。

然而，全球范围内的汽油和柴油需求却出现了下降。欧洲成品油基准ICE Gasoil和美国取暖油期货上周均触及2017年7月以来的低点，均下跌了约25%。基金经理们纷纷出脱押注于汽油价格上涨的头寸。洲际交易所汽油的净多头头寸创下了7个多月来的新高，在约六周时间内跌至一年多来的最低水平。

大多数交易员不会公布他们在个别产品交易中损益的详细结果。不过，8位市场消息人士表示，由于错误方向押注，许多交易机构和石油巨头在柴油业务上出现亏损。交易最活跃的公司是道达尔(Total)、英国石油(BP)和壳牌(Shell)，而最大的石油交易商是维托尔(Vitol)、嘉能可(Glencore)、托克(Trafigura)、贡沃尔(Gunvor)和摩科瑞(Mercuria)。

王佳晶 摘译自 路透社

原文如下：

Oil traders hit by unexpected slump in gasoil

After strong profits in 2019, oil traders have been hit hard early in 2020, losing tens of millions of dollars on bets on gasoil price spreads due to an unexpected collapse in demand in January, sources familiar with the matter said.

The global oil industry expected this year would bring a sharp increase in marine gasoil demand due to new regulations from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that limited the use of high-sulfur fuel oils beginning in January. Traders expected gasoil demand would spike as it met those regulations, so it could be substituted for higher-sulfur fuels.

Instead, gasoil and diesel demand dropped worldwide due to a warmer-than-expected winter in the Northern Hemisphere and a drop in consumption due to the global spread of the coronavirus.

ICE Gasoil, the European distillate benchmark, and U.S. benchmark heating oil futures last week both hit lows not seen since July 2017. Both are down about 25% this year.

Money managers have stampeded out of positions betting on gains in gasoil. Those net long positions in ICE gasoil hit a more than seven-month high in early January and in a span of about six weeks dropped to their least bullish level in more than a year.

Most traders do not publish detailed results of their gains and losses on trading in individual products. However, eight market sources said numerous trading houses and oil majors have had losses on diesel due to wrong-way bets. The most active oil majors in trading are Total, BP and Shell, while the biggest oil traders are Vitol, Glencore, Trafigura, Gunvor and Mercuria.