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  3. When oil sells at high market prices, the world’s leading oil consumers, the United States, Japan and the European Union(EU), wi

When oil sells at high market prices, the world’s leading oil consumers, the United States, Japan and the European Union(EU), wi

admin2013-07-02  26
问题     When oil sells at high market prices, the world’s leading oil consumers, the United States, Japan and the European Union(EU), will confront bigger difficulties in concluding their domestic economic policies. Oil enterprises will face rising production costs and falling revenues. Expensive oil will compel the United States and Japan to increase federal interest rates, while making it harder for the European Central Bank(ECB) to lower its rates to simulate its economy. The U. S. trade imbalance is more severe, peaking at $ 46 billion last March. Soaring oil prices have contributed to this result. As for the growing markets in Asia, including China, higher oil prices raise import costs, drive consumer price hikes and increase inflation pressure. According to the estimation of the International Energy Agency, if the price of oil increases by $ 10 per barrel within a year, the Asian economic growth rate will drop 0. 8 percentage points. Sometime this year, China is expected to replace Japan as the world’s second largest oil importer, after the United States. In 2005, China’s oil imports are expected to reach 100 million tons. Since China’s oil purchases are primarily spot transactions, a hike in oil prices will have an exaggerated effect on its economy and people’s consuming habits.

    Despite these ill effects, the overall global economic recovery will not be reversed. The current flux of oil prices began in January 2002, yet it did not prevent the economies of the United States, Japan and the EU from pushing ahead since late 2003. A brisk increase of oil prices actually indicates, to some degree, that economic recovery spurs oil demand, though oil production has not been exceeded by demand in the international market. Aside from the impact of a cut in production by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC)and the tense situation in the Middle East, it has been the speculations of major international oil companies that have largely contributed to the spike in oil prices.
    This will have limited effect on economic growth of the countries that are driven by sectors, such as the hi-tech and service industries. Impact will be severer in newer markets, whose economies rely more on manufacturing and are less dynamic. In fact, economic growth for the least developed countries could fall 2 percentage points. The IMF predicted that the three major economies of the United States, Japan and the EU would enjoy economic growth at 4. 6 percent, 3. 4 percent and 1. 7 percent respectively this year, even if oil price remains at $ 40 per barrel. Even when the rates drop marginally, from 0.3 to 0.5 percentage points, their growth would still be higher than their respective 3.1 percent, 2. 7 percent and 0.4 percent in 2003.
The reason why the trade imbalance in the U. S. is severe is that______.
选项 A、its domestic economic policies are too tricky to be concluded
B、the federal interest rate of the U. S. increases sharply
C、ECB has failed to lower its rates to simulate its economy
D、the global oil prices are going up dramatically and suddenly
答案D
解析 事实细节题。第一段末尾出现了题干信息：美国的贸易不平衡更加严重了，在上个三月份达到了460亿。飞涨的油价是这一结果的始作俑者。所以选项[D]正确。[A]、[B]、[C]都是油价上涨的结果。
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