Is this just a sign of a short-term trend or are oil prices in free fall? For the answer to that, we turn once again to Betsy Stark. Betsy? Charlie, Wall Street and Main Street are cheering this slide. For those who wondered if oil prices would ever go down as fast as they went up, the 27-dollar plunge in a barrel of oil in just one month is an encouraging sign.
An economy starved for good news got some today: another drop in oil prices holding the promise of more relief at the pump. "Better, much better actually." The rapid reversal is all the more remarkable considering the dire headlines forecasting prices as high as 200 dollars a barrel just a few weeks ago. Now, the experts are talking about 100 dollars a barrel and less.
“What will happen to the price of oil?” “I think... I think, you know, you can… you can easily see the move… a move down to a hundred, hundred and ten.” “If there is no conflicts in the Middle East, if there’s no hurricanes, no geopolitical disruptions, I think we could see oil back in double digits before the end of the year.” So what changed? Today, the talk was about tropical storm Edooard steeringclear of Gulf Coast oil rigs.
But analysts say there is a far more important force at work, the fallout from a dramatically weakened economy. “The bottom line is this. We’re seeing demand drop off in the United States in a historic fashion.” Here is what he’s talking about. Fuel prices got so high Americans started driving less. Truckers were forced off the road. Airlines cut flights. And as consumption of all those fuels dropped, oil prices did too. “I definitely do less driving.”
All that explains why they’re falling, but not why they’re falling so fast. That has a lot to do with so called oil speculators now taking profits on the belief prices have peaked. Whatever the reasons, consumers are glad they’re coming down and hoping they have further to fall.
So, will oil prices fall further or at least stay where they are? Well, as you heard from one of our analysts, there are a lot of ifs in the oil forecasting business. If there are no major hurricanes, if there are no flare-ups in the Middle East, if there are no conflicts in other oil producing countries, then many analysts now believe the trend in prices will be lowered, Charlie. All right, Betsy Stark, reporting on those tonight.
※ quick/fast/swift/soon/early 비교 1. quick(ly) : 반응이 신속하거나 어떤 동작의 지속시간이 짧은 것 ex. a quick response to my question ex. Something has to be done about this quickly. ex. He ate a quick breakfast and rushed off to work 2. fast : 동작의 속도를 나타냄 ex. a fast car ex. You're reading to fast for me to follow. 3. swift : 동작의 속도가 빠른 것을 의미함과 동시에 그 동작이 smooth하고, 중단되지않고, 별다른 노력을 기울이지 않고도 빠른 것을 내포할 수 있음 ex. The government intervened swiftly to save the hostages. 신속하게 - 빠른면서도 중단되지 않고 스무쓰한 느낌 ex. He walked swiftly across the hall. 4. soon : 곧 (within a short time from now) ex. If we don't leave soon, we're going to miss our bus. 5. early : 일찍 (before the usual or expected time) ex. I don't get up very early. ex. The flight arrived ten minutes early.
free fall : 자유 낙하(지구의 인력만으로 생기는 물체의 낙하 운 동), (가치·명성 따위의) 하락, 급락, (주가의) 대폭락 Main Street : 번화가, 중심가, (Wall Street에 대비하여) (전통적.보수적인) 일반 대 중[국민], 서민 /Main Street is used by journalists to refer to the ordinary people of America who live in small towns rather than big cities or are not very rich. ex. This financial crisis had a much greater impact on Main Street. slide : 미끄러짐, 하락 plunge : ~ 을 처넣다, ~ 을 빠뜨리다, 뛰어들다, 빠지다, 급락하 다, 뛰어들기, 돌진, 급락 * plunge one's hand into hot water 손을 뜨거운 물에 처넣다 / * plunge into a river 강에 뛰어들다. * take the plunge : (수영장 등에) 뛰어들다, 과감히 하다, 결혼하다 / to finally do something important, difficult, or dangerous after thinking about it ex. He finally decided to take the plunge and will get married next year. starved : 굶주린, 허기진 * starved for ~ : ~에 굶주린 ex. I'm feeling starved for intelligent conversation. * starve : 굶주리다, ~을 굶기다 hold the promise of ~ : ~에 대한 밝은 전망을 가지고 있다, ~에 대한 가능성을 가지고 있다 / to show a sign that something is likely to happen ex. The plan holds the promise of accelerating economic growth in the Middle East. at the pump : (= at the gas station) 주유소에서 * gas pump : 주유소 (= gas station) reversal : 반전, 역전, 취소, 파기 ex. a reversal of the situation 상황의 반전 all the more : 더욱 더, 그만큼 더 dire : 무서운, 무시무시한, 끔직한, 비참한, 불길한 / 1. very severe or serious 2. saying that something very bad is going to happen ex. a dire prediction 비관적 예측 / ex. a dire accident 끔찍한 사고 conflict : 충돌, 상충, 대립, 마찰, 불일치, 충돌하다 (with), 모순되 다 (with) ex. conflict of interest(s) 이해의 상충 / ex. Our interests conflict with theirs. 우리의 이해는 그들의 이해와 상충된다 ex. come into conflict (with) (와) 싸우다; 충돌 [상충]하다 geopolitical : (=geopolitic) 지정학의, 지정학적인 disrupt : 혼란시키다, <교통 통신 등을> 혼란[교란]시키다, 붕괴시키다 * disruption : 혼란, 교란 * disruptive 분열[붕괴]시키는, 혼 란을 일으키는, 파괴적인 tropical storm : 열대 폭풍우 steer : vt.,vi. ~ 의 키를 잡다, 조종하다, (어떤 방향으로) 돌리다 (for, toward) ex. steer a ship westward 배를 서쪽으로 돌리다 clear of ~ : not touching something or not too close to it ex. Make sure your hands are completely clear of the blades. * keep clear of ~ : ~에서 떨어져 있다, ~을 피해 있다 oil rig : (특히 해저의) 석유 굴착 장치 at work : 1. 일하고, 집무 중에(at the place where you work), 2. in the process of doing or making something 3. <영향이> 작용하여( having a particular effect or influence) ex. If he's not at home, he must still be at work. ex. She's currently at work on a book about women in space. ex. You don't know what forces are at work behind the scenes. fallout : 방사성 낙진, (예기치 않은) 결과, 부산물, 악영향 bottom line : [기업이 작성한 결산 보고의] 마지막 숫자 [순익 또 는 순손실을 나타낸다], [산출된] 순익, 순손실, 결론, 가장 중요한 사항, 요 점, 핵심 2. the least a person is willing to accept when they are trying to reach an agreement with someone else ex. The bottom line is that it's not profitable. 요는 그것이 이윤이 없다는 것이다. ex. We have to find out what the terrorists' bottom line is. drop off : (= drop away) 1. to slope downward 2. to become weaker or smaller in amount ex. The land drops steeply away into a small valley. ex. Support for him has begun to drop away. * drop-off : 깎아지른 [몹시 가파른] 내리받이, 낭떠러지, 감소, 하락 ex. We often see a drop-off in business in the winter. have to do with ~ : ~ 와 관련이 있다 * have a lot to do with~ /have little to do with~/ have something to do with~ / have nothing to do with~ on the belief that ~ : ~라고 믿고, ~라고 생각하고 peak : (뾰족한) 산꼭대기, 봉우리, 뾰족한 끝, 절정, 최고점[도], 피크, 우뚝 솟다, 최고 한도에 이르다 * hit one's peak : = reach one's peak 최고[절정]에 이르다 * at the peak of the boom 호경기의 절정에서 flare-up : 확 타오름, 번쩍 빛남, 발끈 성내기, (감정 따위의) 폭 발, (사건·소동·질병 따위의) 돌발, 대소동 ex. A flare-up along the border threatened the peace talks. * flare up : 확 타오르다, 격분하다, (감정 따위가) 폭발하다, (사건· 소동·질병 따위가) 돌발하다 lower : 낮추다, (가치.정도 등을) 떨어뜨리다, 낮아지다