Crude prices jump on U.S. inventories

    NEW YORK, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Crude prices jumped on Wednesday as U.S. crude inventories¹ fell last week.
    Commercial crude（原油） inventories decreased by 500,000 barrels to 357.9 million barrels, according to the Energy Information Administration.
    Gasoline inventories shrank by 3.5 million barrels to 222.6 million barrels. Demand for（对...的需求） gasoline over the four weeks that ended Sept. 24 averaged 9.1 million barrels a day, an increase of nearly 1 percent from the same period of 2009.
    Inventories of distillate fuel, which include diesel² and heating oil, fell by 1.3 million barrels to 173.6 million barrels.
    Light, sweet crude for November delivery gained 1.20 U.S. dollars to settle at 77.86 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
    In London, Brent crude rose 2.06 dollars to settle at 80.77 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures³ exchange.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 inventories   

n.总结( inventory的名词复数 )；细账；存货清单（或财产目录）的编制

参考例句：

• In other cases, such as inventories, inputs and outputs are both continuous. 在另一些情况下，比如存货，其投入和产出都是持续不断的。
• The store must clear its winter inventories by April 1st. 该店必须在4月1日前售清冬季存货。

2 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

3 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。