沙特空袭也门叛军引发原油市场紧张
The price of oil rose on Thursday as Saudi jets bombed Houthi rebels in the Yemeni capital, raising fears that the civil conflict in the Gulf state could escalate into a regional war.
Saudi Arabia, backed by a 10-country Sunni coalition, launched the air strikes early on Thursday against targets in Houthi-controlled Sana’a, including the airport and a military air base.
在由10个国家组成的逊尼派联盟的支持下，沙特阿拉伯周四凌晨对胡塞控制的萨那目标（包括机场和空军基地）发动空袭。The Houthis responded by firing rockets across the northern border into Saudi territory.
作为回应，胡塞组织在北部边境向沙特境内发射了火箭弹。
The Saudi attacks marked a big escalation of the Yemen crisis, in which the Shia Houthis, who are backed by Iran, are fighting to oust the country’s president, Abd Rabbuh Hadi, who is backed by Saudi Arabia and its Sunni allies.
沙特的袭击标志着也门危机的一大升级。在这场危机中，伊朗支持的什叶派的胡塞武装试图推翻也门总统阿卜杜-拉布•哈迪(Abd Rabbuh Hadi)，而后者得到沙特及其逊尼派盟友的支持。Oil prices rose as much as 6 per cent on Thursday in response to the strikes, though they later fell back slightly. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose $2.36 to $58.84 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, rose $1.62 to $50.83.
空袭发生后，油价周四一度上涨6%，尽管后来略有回落。国际基准布伦特原油(Brent crude)上涨2.36美元，至每桶58.84美元，而美国基准西德克萨斯中质原油(West Texas Intermediate)上涨1.62美元，至每桶50.83美元。The fighting has raised concerns about the vulnerability of the Bab el-Mandeb strait between Yemen and Djibouti, which has been identified by the US Department of Energy as a potential “chokepoint” in the global oil market.
这场战火引发了人们对于也门和吉布提之间的曼德海峡(Bab el-Mandeb strait)脆弱性的担忧，美国能源部认为这里是全球石油市场一个潜在的“阻塞点”。On average, almost 4m barrels of oil pass daily through the strait, which connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea and is only 18 miles wide at its narrowest point. Tankers carrying crude from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq have to pass through it to reach the Suez Canal and Europe.
平均而言，每天有近400万桶石油通过这一连接红海与亚丁湾和阿拉伯海的海峡，其最窄处的宽度只有18英里。从沙特、阿联酋、科威特和伊拉克出发的油轮，必须通过这个海峡才能抵达苏伊士运河乃至欧洲。But analysts say neither side in the Yemen conflict has the kind of weaponry that would pose a serious threat to tankers in the Bab el-Mandeb.
但分析师们表示，也门冲突双方都没有足以对曼德海峡的油轮构成严重威胁的那种武器。Richard Mallinson, geopolitical analyst at Energy Aspects, said he doubted the Houthis could carry out a “sustained campaign against shipping”, and also noted there was “no real threat to Saudi territory or oil production”.
Energy Aspects的地缘政治分析师理查德•马林森(Richard Mallinson)表示，他对胡塞武装“对航运展开持续攻击”的能力表示怀疑，并指出，“沙特境内或石油生产并未真正受到威胁”。However, the overnight strikes set the stage for a broader, more direct confrontation between Shia Iran and Saudi Arabia and its Sunni allies in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC).
然而，这波夜间空袭为什叶派的伊朗与沙特及其逊尼派盟友在海湾合作委员会(GCC)展开更广泛、更直接的对抗搭起了舞台。
