沙特反腐風暴推高油價

Oil surged above $64 a barrel to its highest level in two years yesterday after Saudi Arabia’s crackdown on ­dozens of princes and business tycoons raised concerns over stability and ­policymaking in the world’s largest crude exporter.

油價昨日飆升至每桶64美元以上，達到兩年來最高水平。此前沙特阿拉伯對數(shù)十名王子和商界大亨的打擊令人擔憂全球最大原油出口國的穩(wěn)定和政策制定。

The sharp move in Brent crude, the international benchmark, came shortly after Saudi officials warned that they had found “widespread corruption” among suspects detained in the weekend sweep and threatened to freeze assets of those being held.

沙特官員們警告，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)周末被拘留的嫌疑人存在“普遍的腐敗”，并威脅要凍結(jié)這些在押人員的資產(chǎn)。此后不久，國際基準布倫特(Brent)原油價格開始急劇變動。

Brent hit a high of $64.23 a barrel, taking gains since June to more than 40 per cent, in a move that is likely to be closely watched by central banks already monitoring rising inflation. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate hit $57.41 a barrel, its highest in two years.

布倫特原油價格觸及每桶64.23美元的高點，自6月以來漲幅超過40%，這一變動可能會受到已在監(jiān)測通脹上升的各家央行的密切關注。美國基準西得克薩斯中質(zhì)原油(West Texas Intermediate)價格達到每桶57.41美元，創(chuàng)下兩年來新高。

Crude was on an upward trend even before Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, launched his purge, which included the detention of billionaire investor Alwaleed bin Talal, whose holdings include stakes in Citigroup, Apple and 21st Century Fox. The crackdown was widely seen as a move to consolidate Prince Mohammed’s power as next in line to the throne.

在沙特王儲穆罕默德•本•薩勒曼(Mohammed bin Salman)發(fā)起反腐運動之前，原油價格已呈現(xiàn)上升趨勢，在花旗集團(Citigroup)、蘋果(Apple)及21世紀福克斯公司(21st Century Fox)等公司都持有股份的億萬富豪阿爾瓦利德•本•塔拉勒(Alwaleed bin Talal)王子，是在這場打擊行動中遭到羈押的高層人物之一。

Because Saudi Arabia is Opec’s leading member, pumping one in every nine barrels of crude globally, pol­it­­ical man­oeuv­ring there is closely watched by traders. “The impact on oil could be significant on the perceived increase in volatility in the kingdom,” said Cyril Widdershoven, at the consultancy Verocy.

因沙特阿拉伯是歐佩克(Opec)的領導成員(全球每9桶原油中就有一桶產(chǎn)自沙特)，交易員們密切關注著沙特政壇的一舉一動。“人們形成的沙特王國動蕩升級的印象，對油價的影響可能相當大，”咨詢公司Verocy的西里爾•韋德肖恩(Cyril Widdershoven)說。

Kingdom Holdings, Prince Alwaleed’s investment vehicle, issued a statement saying the Saudi government expressed its “full confidence” in the group, which manages $12.5bn of assets globally.

阿爾瓦利德王子的投資工具Kingdom Holdings發(fā)布了一份聲明，稱沙特政府對該集團表達了“充分信心”，該集團在全球管理著125億美元資產(chǎn)。

Employees have told business partners there is a vacuum of information within Kingdom Holdings, with questions swirling over the fate of the group’s assets. “Everything is on hold,” said one person close to the company. Unlike oil, shares in listed companies in which Prince Alwaleed holds large stakes were initially unaffected by his detention.

該集團的員工們告訴商業(yè)伙伴們，Kingdom Holdings內(nèi)部存在信息真空，人們對集團資產(chǎn)的命運有很多疑問。一位知情人士稱“一切事務都被擱置了。”與油價不同，阿爾瓦利德王子握有大筆股權的多家上市公司的股價，起初并未因其被拘留而受到影響。

Oil’s move above $60 has been backed by the strongest global growth since the financial crisis and Opec’s cuts to output in co-ordination with Russia and others.

油價漲至每桶60美元上方，受到金融危機以來全球經(jīng)濟最強勁增長的支撐，也是歐佩克與俄羅斯及其他產(chǎn)油國協(xié)調(diào)減產(chǎn)的結(jié)果。

Additional reporting by Simeon Kerr 西梅昂•克爾(Simeon Kerr)迪拜、艾哈邁德•奧姆蘭(Ahmed Al Omran)利雅得補充報道

in Dubai and Ahmed Al Omran in Riyadh 譯者/何黎