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本帖最后由 爱城闲人 于 2014-12-9 20:36 编辑 3 m \3 B A) N& O& m
4 U, l6 F2 z# I- n+ lPremier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget( E3 B8 l f; d4 X
Tuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil5 q' e$ x7 R) S4 A7 I
6 x% e6 T- J. H, m0 OThe price of oil hovered around $63 US/barrel Tuesday after one of its worst days in years Tuesday./ R( v/ _( y. n# u
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And Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.
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$ w, n* V) H5 C+ xPrentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.7 F+ j; k4 k: x6 F3 m# C+ U
2 r3 I# r$ |$ O" kTwo weeks ago, the Premier said the government expected oil prices to end the year between $65 US/barrel and $75 US/barrel. At that time he said low prices would have “consequences for all Albertans.”
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Now, with prices lower than $65 US/barrel, Prentice says low prices could leave a $6-$7 billion hole in Alberta’s $40 billion budget.+ {# L; g4 V, g& |2 p
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Prentice says the government will have to reduce spending if low prices are sustained. He says across-the-board cuts in spending won’t happen, instead Prentice says his government will focus on core services and limit spending below the rate of growth, plus inflation.
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1 Q) g4 p' u& J+ J' y) y“It is incumbent on us to adjust our expectations and adjust our spending to begin to mitigate these risks for the long-term. And the solution cannot be to simply wait for the next upswing in prices,” he says., W1 I+ @+ w3 p/ o. A
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Tuesday’s comments come days after a Morgan Stanley report said crude oil prices could drop to $43 US/barrel in 2015 before rebounding.! @! H# Q% Q- s6 l* H1 q9 P8 ~0 z- g
, z6 [' [* ~7 S2 N' Y2 gLast year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.
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. X; n: I/ F2 N! ?% F9 P+ f% U$ TPrentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.
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“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”
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Prentice also says the government is not considering a provincial sales tax to cover possible shortfalls from low oil prices.
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楼主: 辽宁好汉
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发表于 2014-12-9 15:59
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