???? 據石油世界期刊3月5日休斯敦報道,疫情在巴西和墨西哥造成的破壞正使美國煉油商在這兩個主要市場對汽油和柴油的需求降溫。
????1月份,墨西哥汽油消費量降至八個月低點。美國出口的每10桶汽油中有近6桶由墨西哥消費。巴西的柴油銷量曾超過疫情前的水平,但后來逐漸下降,目前處于自去年5月以來的最低水平。
????墨西哥和巴西的新封鎖措施對燃料市場的一個角落來說是一個障礙,直到最近,燃料市場一直是美國煉油商的一個焦點,表明全球恢復正常的預期仍然充滿了不確定性。
????去年,來自拉丁美洲的需求幫助美國燃料生產商抵御了疫情的影響,因為巴西和墨西哥比其他經濟體更快地放松了封鎖措施。現在,兩國都不得不在疫苗接種緩慢的情況下重新實施限制。
????但拉美需求下滑之際,美國墨西哥灣沿岸煉油廠仍在努力重啟業務,此前2月第三周,低溫迫使許多煉油廠關閉。國內需求的前景也更加光明。
????咨詢公司伍德麥肯茲(Wood Mackenzie)的分析師Paula Jara表示,去年,美國在燃料需求方面落后于拉丁美洲,由于疫苗接種的加快,美國在第二季度將大幅增長。她預計第二季度美國的汽油需求將比第一季度增加70萬桶/日。
????由于冷凍,美國煉油廠每天削減了492萬桶的石油加工量。隨著美國在夏季駕車季節(駕車者上路和汽油銷售高峰)到來之前接種疫苗,生產燃料的利潤率正在上升。
????郝芬 譯自 石油世界期刊
????原文如下:
????Mexico and Brazil fuel demand fizzles out amid renewed virus restrictions
????The havoc that the pandemic is wreaking in Brazil and Mexico is cooling demand for gasoline and diesel in two top markets for U.S. oil refiners.
????Gasoline consumption in Mexico, which takes almost six in every 10 barrels of gasoline exported by the U.S., slumped to an eight-month low in January. Diesel sales in Brazil, which had surpassed levels seen prior to the pandemic, fizzled out and are at the lowest levels seen since May.
????New lockdown measures in Mexico and Brazil are a setback for a corner of the fuel market that had been a bright spot for U.S. refiners until recently, illustrating how the anticipated return to global normality is still full of uncertainties.
????Last year, demand from Latin America helped U.S. fuel makers to weather the effects of the pandemic because Brazil and Mexico eased lockdown measures faster than other economies. Now, both countries had to reimpose restrictions amid a slow rollout of vaccinations.
????But the decline in Latin American demand is coming as refiners on the U.S. Gulf Coast are still struggling to restart operations after frigid temperatures forced many to shut down in the third week of February. And the outlook for demand at home is now much brighter.
????“The U.S., which lagged behind Latin America in terms of fuel demand last year, is set to surge ahead in the second quarter amid a faster vaccination rollout,” said Paula Jara, an analyst at consultancy Wood Mackenzie Ltd. She expects gasoline demand in the U.S. to rise by 700,000 barrels a day in the second quarter, compared with the first.
????U.S. refiners curtailed oil processing by 4.92 million barrels a day because of the freeze. Margins to make fuels are rising with U.S. vaccinations ahead of the summer driving season, when motorists take to the roads and gasoline sales peak.