Tensions in the Middle East and north Africa, we are told, lie behind the recent increase in global fuel prices, which Wednesday hit a 2 ½-year high. Yet while Brent crude this week stayed above $120 a barrel, in Tripoli petrol hovered at around 34p a gallon. And that is not a typo. The popular reason for why those closest to the fighting, in this case, suffer less than those farther afield, is Libya’s hefty subsidies. The less popular reason is that world energy markets have been carefully designed to profit from the slightest supply hiccup, even if there is little evidence of actual shortages.
有人告訴我們：中東與北非的緊張局勢，導致了全球燃料價格近期的上漲——上週三觸及了兩年半以來的高點。不過，儘管布倫特原油(Brent crude)上週一直維持在每桶120美元以上，但在利比亞的黎波里，油價卻始終在每加侖34便士上下徘徊（這不是筆誤！）爲何最靠近戰場的地區，所受的影響反而小於遠離戰場的地區？就該案例而言，最流行的解釋是，利比亞有豐厚的補貼。一個不那麼流行的解釋是，世界能源市場經過了精心的設計，可從最微小的供給問題中獲利，即使沒有太多證據證明石油供應會出現實際的短缺。