欧佩克担忧美元贬值

　　石油输出国组织(OPEC，简称欧佩克)将进一步研究美元不断贬值对其经济体的影响。此前，有成员国呼吁欧佩克以美元以外的货币为石油定价。

　　Opec is to study further the effect of the falling US dollar on its economies following calls for it to price oil in currencies other than the greenback.

　　此举出现在欧佩克领导人在利雅得举行的峰会上，其目的是弥合该组织内部在如何应对美元贬值方面的分歧。此前，伊朗和委内瑞拉敦促欧佩克改变以美元为石油定价的做法，但遭到此次峰会主办国沙特阿拉伯的强烈反对。

　　The move, which emerged at the summit of cartel leaders in Riyadh, was an attempt to bridge the divide within the group over how to respond to the dollar’s decline. Iran and Venezuela had pushed for Opec to move away from the dollar in the face of strong opposition from the summit’s host, Saudi Arabia.

　　伊朗总统马哈茂德·艾哈迈迪-内贾德(Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad)在领导人峰会后表示，美元不断贬值意味着，石油生产国正在为美国政府及其人民提供补贴。

　　Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, Iran’s president, said after the leaders’ meeting that the falling dollar meant oil producers were subsidising the US government and people.

　　“他们得到我们的石油，却给我们一张毫无价值的纸，”他表示。“我们都知道美元没有经济价值。”

　　“They get our oil and give us a worthless piece of paper,” he said. “We all know that the US dollar has no economic value.”

　　今年美元兑一篮子主要货币已下跌16%，并且自欧佩克于2000年在委内瑞拉的加拉加斯举行上一届峰会以来，美元兑欧元汇率已累计下跌44%。伊朗官员表示，今年迄今为止，他们每桶石油的平均价格是63美元，较2006年同期仅高出2美元。如果折算为欧元，今年的油价比去年更便宜。

　　The dollar has dropped 16 per cent this year against a basket of major currencies, and 44 per cent against the euro since the last Opec summit in Caracas, Venezuela, in 2000. Iranian officials have said that the average price of a barrel of their oil so far this year is, at $63, only $2 higher than for the same period of 2006. Priced in euros, oil has been cheaper this year than last year.

　　欧佩克成员国的财长和外长计划数周后在阿布扎比举行会议，讨论美元的影响。欧佩克在此次峰会的闭幕宣言中间接地暗示了这一点。

　　Finance and foreign ministers from Opec countries are to meet in Abu Dhabi in the next few weeks to discuss the effect of the dollar, a move hinted at in an oblique reference in the summit’s closing declaration.

　　沙特阿拉伯外交大臣沙特·费萨尔亲王(Prince Saud Al-Faisal)上周五警告称，如果在该宣言中提及美元，美元可能“崩盘”。

　　On Friday, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, warned that the dollar could “collapse” if the US currency was mentioned in the declaration.

　　他本该是在闭门的部长级会议上发表的这番言论，却不小心通过话筒被记者听到。

　　His remarks – made in what was supposed to be a closed ministerial meeting – were accidentally broadcast to reporters.

　　在峰会之后，费萨尔亲王淡化了部长们进一步研究美元问题的重要性。他表示，此举不具有任何“隐藏含义”，只是反映出欧佩克成员国“实现其资源回报最大化”的责任。

　　After the summit, Prince Saud played down the significance of the ministers’ further examination of the dollar problem, saying it did not have any “hidden implications” and reflected Opec members’ duty ”to maximise the return from their resources”.