周三，油价大幅下跌，原因是市场对伊朗战争得到解决的希望日益增强。欧洲布伦特原油自10月7日以来首次跌破每桶100美元。这意味着油价下跌了近8美元，跌幅达8.3%。美国原油（即西得克萨斯中质原油）也下跌8.3%，收于每桶约88.12美元。这是自4月以来油价最大的单日跌幅。消费者可能随之迎来喘息之机。GasBuddy分析师帕特里克·德哈恩表示，油价下跌可能在未来几天内推动全国平均汽油价格降至每加仑4美元以下。
Oil prices dropped sharply Wednesday, propelled by growing hopes for a resolution in the Iran war. European Brent crude fell below $100 per barrel for the first time since Oct. 7. The move translated to a nearly $8 drop, or an 8.3% decline. U.S. crude oil, or West Texas Intermediate, also slipped 8.3% to close at about $88.12. It was oil’s biggest daily decline since April. Relief for consumers may follow. Oil’s fall could bring the national average price of gas down below $4 in the “days ahead,” Patrick De Haan, an analyst at GasBuddy, said.
随着交易部门和能源专家密切关注周二中期选举结果是否会迫使总统唐纳德·特朗普在没有大幅升级的情况下结束伊朗战争的迹象，油价走低。这场战争导致汽油和柴油价格飙升，使本已居高不下的通胀对美国消费者、农民和企业主而言雪上加霜。海湾石油公司首席能源顾问汤姆·克洛扎在社交媒体上表示：“未来六周通常是对汽油和柴油价格上涨最为不利的时期之一。如果美国或伊朗不在波斯湾采取‘焦土’政策，到12月下半月我们可能会看到价格大幅下降。”
Prices moved lower as trading desks and energy experts watched closely for a sign that Tuesday’s midterm election results would pressure President Donald Trump into ending the Iran war without a major escalation. The war sent gasoline and diesel prices skyrocketing, making already stubborn inflation worse for American consumers, farmers and business owners. “The next six weeks typically deliver one of the most hostile environments for higher gasoline and diesel prices,” Tom Kloza, chief energy adviser to Gulf Oil, said on social media. “If the US or Iran don’t pursue ‘scorched earth’ policies in the Persian Gulf, we may see considerably lower prices by second half December.”
周三上午，平均价格为4.12美元。这比特朗普和以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡2月28日发动伊朗战争之前高出39%，那场战争导致霍尔木兹海峡的航运交通陷入混乱。副总统JD·万斯在社交媒体上表示，这场战争是共和党在中期选举中遭遇如此惨重失利的原因。“任何关于我们今后走向的诚实对话都必须从那里开始，”万斯说，他可能是共和党在2028年总统选举中的旗手。
On Wednesday morning, that average price was $4.12. That’s 39% higher than before Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched the Iran war Feb. 28, which snarled shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. On social media, Vice President JD Vance said the war is the reason the Republican Party suffered such steep losses in the midterm elections. “And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there,” said Vance, who could be the GOP’s standard-bearer in the 2028 presidential election.
特朗普也表示，他意识到伊朗战争对美国消费者造成的伤害。“我认为是汽油价格，”特朗普周二晚间在福克斯新闻上说道，当时首批结果已经明朗。
Trump also said he realized the toll the Iran war took on American consumers. “I think it’s the gasoline price,” Trump said Tuesday night on Fox News as the first results became clear.
“人们赞同我在伊朗问题上所做的事，但他们可能真的不愿承担短期后果，即为汽油支付更多费用，这一点，你知道，我能理解。”过去三个交易时段，油价暴跌。周五，布伦特原油每桶最高交易至118美元，但到周三，其价格已降至约94美元。尽管油价大幅下跌，但与年初相比，整体油价仍上涨了60%。周二，59%前往投票站的选民在NBC新闻的选民出口民调中表示，他们对汽油和柴油价格“非常担忧”，这与消费者数月来表达的担忧相呼应。
“People agree with what I’m doing on Iran, but they really probably weren’t willing to do the short-term consequence of paying more for gasoline, and that, you know, I understand that.”Oil’s drop over the last three trading sessions has been precipitous. On Friday, Brent oil traded as high as $118 per barrel, but by Wednesday, its price was around $94. Despite the sharp move lower, the overall price of oil remains higher by 60% compared with the start of the year. On Tuesday, 59% of voters who went to the ballot box told NBC News in an exit poll that they were “very concerned” with the cost of gas and diesel fuel, echoing concerns that consumers have voiced for months.
但柴油价格更让经济学家感到担忧。美国柴油期货周三也大幅下跌。截至中午，价格下跌了近7%，跌至自8月底以来的最低水平。这可能意味着加油站的油价将迎来更多缓解。作为为全国货物（如杂货）运输服务提供动力的燃料，柴油价格的任何上涨都可能迅速通过商店货架上的更高价格波及整个经济。
But diesel fuel prices have economists far more concerned. U.S. diesel futures also tumbled Wednesday. As of midday, prices declined by nearly 7%, to their lowest level since the end of August. That likely means that more relief is coming for prices at the pump. As the fuel that powers transportation services for goods, such as groceries, across the country, any jump in prices could quickly ripple across the economy through higher prices on store shelves.