For the past decade, oil prices have caused trouble whether they have been rising or falling. There is no level that does not pose a problem for either consumers or some producers. Venezuela, for example, has been a spectacular casualty of the low prices of 2015 and early 2016. The beginnings of the 2007-9 recessions in many countries were accompanied by extremely high prices that approached $150 a barrel in June 2008. In political terms, American elections are not readily won with West Texas Intermediate, the US standard, at $75 and rising, and oil-dependent Saudi Arabia’s budget becomes severely strained when Brent falls below $70.
過去十年，無論油價(jià)是漲是跌，都會(huì)造成麻煩。無論油價(jià)處于何種水平，要么令消費(fèi)者心煩，要么讓部分產(chǎn)油國頭疼。例如，委內(nèi)瑞拉就是2015年至2016年初油價(jià)下跌的嚴(yán)重受害者。很多國家在2007-09年經(jīng)歷的衰退在剛開始時(shí)伴隨著油價(jià)高企——到2008年6月接近150美元/桶。在政治方面，當(dāng)美國基準(zhǔn)油價(jià)西德克薩斯中質(zhì)油(West Texas Intermediate)處于75美元/桶并持續(xù)上漲時(shí)，想在美國大選中獲勝?zèng)]那么容易；而當(dāng)布倫特(Brent)油價(jià)跌至70美元/桶以下時(shí)，依賴石油的沙特阿拉伯的預(yù)算會(huì)變得非常緊張。