據美國油價網2022年2月7日報道，作為美國西得克薩斯中質原油（WTI）期貨合約的指定交割點，位于俄克拉荷馬州的美國最大原油儲存中心庫欣的原油庫存在過去4周里一直在下降，如今已下降到了可能令人不安的低水平，這表明油價有可能進一步上漲。

在截至1月28日的最新一周報告中，美國能源信息署(EIA)表示，庫欣原油庫存降到了3050萬桶，比前一周減少了120萬桶。 庫欣庫存現在比去年同期下降了37.3%。

EIA數據顯示，庫欣原油庫存從去年12月31日的3730萬桶降到了今年1月28日的略高于3000萬桶。

彭博評論專欄作家哈維爾?布拉斯指出，交易商們正大舉押注，在本周EIA報告庫存時，庫欣庫存水平將進一步下降，并可能在整個2月份將進一步下降。

庫欣庫存的減少可能會在未來幾周里推高油價。 彭博社的布拉斯指出，由于運營原因，庫欣的原油庫存不可能真正達到零，因此所謂的“罐底”是指庫存降至2500萬桶以下。

可這并不是說，庫欣的原油庫存將達到所謂的“罐底”——美國即將進行的煉油廠維護可能會減少庫存下降。

盡管如此，由于WTI原油期貨合約交割點現貨價格較低，這仍是石油市場看漲的信號。

2月4日觸及每桶92美元以后，WTI原油下跌了1.21%，報收于每桶91.19美元。2月7日上午10點，布蘭特原油期貨價格下跌了0.53%，報收于每桶92.83美元。 

李峻 編譯自 美國油價網

原文如下：

Low Cushing Inventories Could Lead To Higher Oil Prices

Crude oil inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma—the designated delivery point for WTI Crude oil futures contracts—have been falling for the past four weeks, reaching what could be uncomfortably low levels and pointing to a potential further upside for oil prices.

In the latest reporting week to January 28, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said that Cushing crude inventories fell to 30.5 million barrels, down by 1.2 million from the previous week. Cushing inventories are now down by 37.3 percent compared to this time of the year in 2021.

Crude inventories dropped from 37.3 million barrels on December 31, 2021, to just over 30 million barrels as of January 28, EIA data showed.

Traders are betting heavily that those levels would further drop when the EIA reports inventories this week, and probably further decline throughout February, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Javier Blas notes.

Shrinking Cushing inventories could push oil prices higher in the coming weeks. Due to operational reasons, crude at Cushing cannot really reach zero, so the perceived “tank bottoms” is when inventories drop below 25 million barrels, Bloomberg’s Blas notes.

It’s not a given that crude inventories at Cushing will reach the so-called “tank bottoms”—upcoming refinery maintenance in the United States could drop the drawdowns.

Nevertheless, low levels of physical crude at the delivery point for WTI Crude oil futures contracts is still a bullish sign for the oil market.

After hitting $92 a barrel on Friday, WTI Crude fell on Monday morning by 1.21% at $91.19 as of 10:25 a.m., and Brent Crude was down 0.53% at $92.83.