Oil prices on both side of the Atlantic have pushed above $50 a barrel for the first time this year as investors¹ weigh the impact of supply disruptions and US figures showing a decline in crude inventories².

大西洋两岸的石油价格今年以来首次涨至每桶50美元以上。目前投资者在权衡供应中断的影响，同时美国数据显示原油库存下滑。

ICE July Brent crude rose as much as 1 per cent to $50.51 a barrel on Thursday in London and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate also topped $50, rising 0.7 per cent to $50.21. They later pared gains and dropped below $50 a barrel.

周四，伦敦洲际交易所(ICE) 7月交货的布伦特(Brent)原油期货价格上涨1%，至每桶50.51美元，美国基准西德克萨斯中质油(West Texas Intermediate)价格也超过50美元，上涨0.7%，至每桶50.21美元。随后油价涨幅收窄，回落至每桶50美元以下。

Michael Wittner, analyst³ at Société Générale, said: “We expect global crude markets to continue to be driven by supply disruptions, especially in Nigeria and Canada.”

法国兴业银行(Société Générale)分析师迈克尔•威特纳(Michael Wittner)称：“我们预计全球原油市场继续受供应中断的驱动，特别是尼日利亚和加拿大的供应问题。”

Wildfires are estimated to have knocked out about 1m barrels a day of Canadian production in May and militant⁴ activity has cut output in Nigeria to less than 1.4m b/d, 40 per cent down from its recent peak.

预计野火已经造成5月加拿大每日原油产量减少100万桶左右，军事行动使得尼日利亚每日产量降至不足140万桶，较近期峰值减少了40%。

Crude has almost doubled since hitting 12-year lows in January on the belief the market will start to rebalance as supplies of high-cost oil decline and rising consumption from motorists and other oil users helps take care of excess stocks.

由于投资者认为市场将开始再平衡——高成本石油供应下滑以及汽车司机和其他石油用户消费增加有助于消化过量库存，自从1月触及12年低点以来，原油价格几乎已经翻倍。