 鲜花( 1)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
本帖最后由 爱城闲人 于 2014-12-9 20:36 编辑
6 I* A5 |& M: s; }# J( l9 F( e, \* ^. W
Premier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget
3 R# ^0 G: {5 E7 f5 \* a0 ]. ]Tuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil# M' h c6 G) e+ e. R
2 t2 D. E' k5 F% w2 ]' c
The price of oil hovered around $63 US/barrel Tuesday after one of its worst days in years Tuesday.+ T3 U" C, o5 J; C2 Y
- O; w7 E! d, m& \1 O
And Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.
4 E* C/ X# `: r Y q5 M# q' G. q1 a( y, |" g3 T7 F4 l8 d+ B
Prentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.
3 k' t$ r j, b) w i0 b* a# l/ T6 [' p( k# z% h" l4 D
Two 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.”) l o6 U# p% H. i0 T
z: l1 L. k# dNow, with prices lower than $65 US/barrel, Prentice says low prices could leave a $6-$7 billion hole in Alberta’s $40 billion budget.
/ k2 n6 s8 ^% M: Q: z O7 _* k( a* @
C( | d: r1 T1 bPrentice says the government will have to reduce spending if low prices are sustained. He says across-the-board cuts in spending won’t happen, instead Prentice says his government will focus on core services and limit spending below the rate of growth, plus inflation., W% _% D5 @: |( c
: u' R9 ?6 b" G: c9 ?
“It is incumbent on us to adjust our expectations and adjust our spending to begin to mitigate these risks for the long-term. And the solution cannot be to simply wait for the next upswing in prices,” he says.
0 T* X. W! @6 W
; p$ E4 f c" l( OTuesday’s comments come days after a Morgan Stanley report said crude oil prices could drop to $43 US/barrel in 2015 before rebounding.
1 T, V. F G/ c) ~! K" K2 g
2 g% @( I, E! `) r- y( K! x% uLast year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.. j: v J D. [2 Z9 R
& F3 B9 m7 l5 o/ Q2 q. e3 h) w
Prentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.! c6 M6 N( W8 o1 v X, o$ c" p
8 {! R$ c; z9 E/ g7 w" J) u$ x/ C
“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”: H g/ G$ V/ r0 D
! z6 ?3 ]$ g3 x H
Prentice also says the government is not considering a provincial sales tax to cover possible shortfalls from low oil prices.
* ]4 @4 X" w# y+ c3 Z# f S k$ U |
|
楼主: 辽宁好汉
狗仔卡
发表于 2014-12-9 15:59
显身卡
