据CNBC网站11月18日消息：油价周三走强，因市场预期石油输出国组织(欧佩克)及其盟友将推迟增产计划，以抵消美国原油库存增幅高于预期的影响。

布伦特原油期货上涨81美分，至每桶44.57美元，涨幅1.87%；美国西德克萨斯中质原油上涨75美分，涨幅1.8%，至每桶42.19美元。

雷斯塔能源石油市场主管Bjornar Tonhaugen表示:“今天油价小幅上涨，原因是人们希望欧佩克+会决定推迟原定于1月的增产计划，以及最新的疫苗热潮。”

随着第二波疫情继续蔓延，为了应对能源需求减弱的问题，沙特阿拉伯呼吁欧佩克+集团的其他成员(包括欧佩克以及俄罗斯在内的其他产油国)灵活应对石油市场需求。

欧佩克周二召开会议，在11月30日和12月1日的部长级会议讨论政策之前没有提出正式建议。

消息人士称，欧佩克成员国倾向于推迟此前达成的一项计划，即在明年将石油日产量提高200万桶，相当于全球需求的2%。他们正在考虑将提价推迟三至六个月的方案。

美国石油学会(API)周二公布，上周美国原油库存增加420万桶，远高于预期的170万桶。

"馏分油库存减少500万桶，汽油库存小幅增加，抵消了原油数据低迷的影响，"石油经纪公司PVM的Tamas Varga表示。

冯娟 摘译自 CNBC

原文如下:

Oil rises on hopes for delay to OPEC+ supply increase

Oil prices firmed on Wednesday as hopes that producer group OPEC and its allies will delay a planned increase in oil output to offset a bigger than expected build in U.S. crude inventories.

Brent crude futures rose 81 cents, or 1.87%, to $44.57 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 75 cents, or 1.8%, to trade at $42.19 per barrel.

“Oil prices today are modestly rising on hopes that OPEC+ will decide to postpone its planned production increase in January and on the latest vaccine euphoria,” said Rystad Energy’s head of oil markets, Bjornar Tonhaugen.

U.S. companies Pfizer and Moderna have raised hopes of containing the COVID-19 pandemic with reports of high success rates for their coronavirus vaccines.

To tackle weaker energy demand as the pandemic continues its second wave, Saudi Arabia has called on fellow members of the OPEC+ group - comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers including Russia - to be flexible in responding to oil market needs.

OPEC+ held a meeting on Tuesday that made no formal recommendation ahead of the group’s full ministerial meeting on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 to discuss policy.

Members of OPEC+ are leaning towards delaying a previously agreed plan to boost output in the new year by 2 million barrels per day (bpd), or 2% of global demand, sources told Reuters this week. They are considering options to delay the increase by three or six months.

Both benchmarks were down earlier in the session after the American Petroleum Institute (API) said on Tuesday that U.S. crude stockpiles rose by 4.2 million barrels last week, well above expectations of a build of 1.7 million barrels in a Reuters poll of analysts.

“The dismal crude data was countered by the 5 million barrel drawdown in distillate stocks whilse gasoline inventories built a tad,” said Tamas Varga of oil brokerage PVM.

Official Energy Information Administration data is due to be released later on Wednesday.