美国8月通胀率略有下降

The world this week - Business

本周国际要闻——商业

America’s annual inflation rate stood at 5.3% in August, down slightly from the 13-year highs of the previous two months.

美国8月份的年化通胀率为5.3%，与前两个月创下的13年来高点相比略有下降。

There was some evidence that inflationary pressures may be levelling off, such as an easing of prices for used cars, which have driven some of this year’s inflation because of supply-chain problems in new-vehicle production.

有一些迹象表明，通胀压力可能正趋于平缓，比如二手车价格的回落。由于新车生产的供应链问题，二手车价格在一定程度上推动了今年的通胀。

Britain’s inflation rate, meanwhile, surged from 2% to 3.2%, partly because of a jump in the cost of eating out, which was artificially lowered a year ago by a government pandemic scheme that subsidised restaurant meals.

与此同时，英国的通货膨胀率从2%飙升至3.2%，部分原因是外出就餐费用的大幅上升，一年前，政府出台了一项针对疫情的餐饮补贴计划，人为降低了该项费用。

In Canada inflation rose to 4.1%, an 18-year high.

在加拿大，通货膨胀率升至4.1%，创18年来新高。

Soaring energy prices are a factor pushing up inflation.

飙升的能源价格是推高通胀的一个因素。

Prices for natural gas have hit new highs in Europe for a variety of reasons, including a supply shortage ahead of the coming winter.

欧洲天然气价格创下新高，该情况由多种原因造成，其中包括即将到来的冬季供应短缺。

In Spain, where consumers’ energy costs have soared, the government wants to seize what it describes as “excess profits” from utility companies to reduce household bills.

在西班牙，消费者的能源支出飙升，政府希望没收公用事业公司所谓的“超额利润”，用来减少家庭开支。

The controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline was completed, allowing Russia to bypass Ukraine and pump more gas to Europe.

备受争议的北溪2号管道完工，俄罗斯得以绕过乌克兰向欧洲输送更多天然气。

Russia says it can start delivering gas once the “remaining formalities” are completed.

俄罗斯表示，一旦“剩余手续”完成，它就可以开始输送天然气。

CMA CGM, one of the world’s biggest container-shipping firms, took the industry by surprise when it announced a five-month cap on spot rates for ocean freight.

达飞轮船公司是世界上最大的集装箱航运公司之一，该公司宣布冻结海运即期运费5个月（译者注：即5个月不上调运费价格），这令业界大吃一惊。

The cost of shipping a standard large container is four times higher than it was a year ago for a number of reasons, including congestion at ports.

由于包括港口拥堵在内的诸多原因，一个标准大型集装箱的运输成本比一年前高出四倍。

CMA CGM describes this as an “uNPRecedented situation” and is capping prices to keep its customers happy.

达飞称这是“前所未有的局面”，并控制价格以取悦客户。

The long-running battle to take over Kansas City Southern appeared to have reached the end of the line when the rail-freight company, which operates in America and Mexico, agreed to a $31bn bid from Canadian Pacific.

这场旷日持久的收购堪萨斯城南方铁路公司的战斗似乎已接近尾声，这家铁路货运公司运营范围在美国和墨西哥之间，它接受了加拿大太平洋公司310亿美元的报价。

It had struck an agreement with Canadian National, CP’s rival, but America’s Surface Transportation Board didn’t like the structure of the deal.

它与加拿大国家航空公司（加拿大太平洋公司的竞争对手）达成了一项协议，但美国地面运输委员会不喜欢这笔交易的结构。