油價上漲對全球經濟的影響

　　①Could the bad old days of economic decline be about to return? ②[1]Since OPEC agreed to supply-cuts in March, the price of crude oil has jumped to almost $ 26 a barrel, up from less than $10 last December. ③This near-tripling of oil prices calls up scary memories of the 1973 oil shock, when prices quadrupled, and 1979 1980, when they also almost tripled. ④Both previous shocks resulted in double-digit inflation and global economic decline. ⑤So where are the headlines warning of gloom and doom this time?

　　①The oil price was given another push up this week when Iraq suspended oil exports. ②Strengthening economic growth, at the same time as winter grips the northern hemisphere, could push the price higher still in the short term.

　　①[5]Yet there are good reasons to expect the economic consequences now to be less severe than in the 1970s. ②[2]In most countries the cost of crude oil now accounts for a smaller share of the price of petrol than it did in the 1970s. ③In Europe, taxes account for up to four-fifths of the retail price, so even quite big changes in the price of crude have a more muted effect on pump prices than in the past.

　　①Rich economies are also less dependent on oil than they were, and so less sensitive to swings in the oil price. ②Energy conservation, a shift to other fuels and a decline in the importance of heavy, energy-intensive industries have reduced oil consumption. ③Software, consultancy and mobile telephones use far less oil than steel or car production. ④For each dollar of GDP (in constant prices) rich economies now use nearly 50% less oil than in 1973. ⑤[3]The OECD estimates in its latest Economic Outlook that, if oil prices averaged $ 22 a barrel for a full year, compared with $13 in 1998, this would increase the oil import bill in rich economies by only 0.25 0.5% of GDP. ⑥That is less than one-quarter of the income loss in 1974 or 1980. ⑦On the other hand, oil-importing emerging economies to which heavy industry has shifted have become more energy-intensive, and so could be more seriously squeezed.

　　①[5]One more reason not to lose sleep over the rise in oil prices is that, unlike the rises in the 1970s, it has not occurred against the background of general commodity-price inflation and global excess demand. ②A sizable portion of the world is only just emerging from economic decline. ③The Economists commodity price index is broadly unchanging from a year ago. ④In 1973 commodity prices jumped by 70%, and in 1979 by almost 30%. [438 words]

　　1. The main reason for the latest rise of oil price is ______.

　　[A] global inflation [B] reduction in supply

　　[C] fast growth in economy [D] Iraqs suspension of exports

　　油價上漲對全球經濟的影響

　　①Could the bad old days of economic decline be about to return? ②[1]Since OPEC agreed to supply-cuts in March, the price of crude oil has jumped to almost $ 26 a barrel, up from less than $10 last December. ③This near-tripling of oil prices calls up scary memories of the 1973 oil shock, when prices quadrupled, and 1979 1980, when they also almost tripled. ④Both previous shocks resulted in double-digit inflation and global economic decline. ⑤So where are the headlines warning of gloom and doom this time?

　　①The oil price was given another push up this week when Iraq suspended oil exports. ②Strengthening economic growth, at the same time as winter grips the northern hemisphere, could push the price higher still in the short term.

　　①[5]Yet there are good reasons to expect the economic consequences now to be less severe than in the 1970s. ②[2]In most countries the cost of crude oil now accounts for a smaller share of the price of petrol than it did in the 1970s. ③In Europe, taxes account for up to four-fifths of the retail price, so even quite big changes in the price of crude have a more muted effect on pump prices than in the past.

　　①Rich economies are also less dependent on oil than they were, and so less sensitive to swings in the oil price. ②Energy conservation, a shift to other fuels and a decline in the importance of heavy, energy-intensive industries have reduced oil consumption. ③Software, consultancy and mobile telephones use far less oil than steel or car production. ④For each dollar of GDP (in constant prices) rich economies now use nearly 50% less oil than in 1973. ⑤[3]The OECD estimates in its latest Economic Outlook that, if oil prices averaged $ 22 a barrel for a full year, compared with $13 in 1998, this would increase the oil import bill in rich economies by only 0.25 0.5% of GDP. ⑥That is less than one-quarter of the income loss in 1974 or 1980. ⑦On the other hand, oil-importing emerging economies to which heavy industry has shifted have become more energy-intensive, and so could be more seriously squeezed.

　　①[5]One more reason not to lose sleep over the rise in oil prices is that, unlike the rises in the 1970s, it has not occurred against the background of general commodity-price inflation and global excess demand. ②A sizable portion of the world is only just emerging from economic decline. ③The Economists commodity price index is broadly unchanging from a year ago. ④In 1973 commodity prices jumped by 70%, and in 1979 by almost 30%. [438 words]

　　1. The main reason for the latest rise of oil price is ______.

　　[A] global inflation [B] reduction in supply

　　[C] fast growth in economy [D] Iraqs suspension of exports