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本帖最后由 爱城闲人 于 2014-12-9 20:36 编辑 ; I+ I- V" q$ s! z! G
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Premier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget
3 b0 \8 @9 m# H, G* E6 B v6 DTuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil
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The price of oil hovered around $63 US/barrel Tuesday after one of its worst days in years Tuesday.6 e, o, a# _$ i# x
+ c9 I' U* {- \7 j YAnd Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.
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Prentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.
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. V0 h: L+ z0 @4 h$ @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.”/ B( g& C9 Z! H3 ?
+ x8 f* y0 G5 B! zNow, with prices lower than $65 US/barrel, Prentice says low prices could leave a $6-$7 billion hole in Alberta’s $40 billion budget. q8 v% _+ q- @1 ?& C( a5 f
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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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; N1 e- q8 a# X5 }8 g( I“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.
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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.
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. \! L' x0 N( I( B) ]: i3 M& ]! E, cLast year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel." N$ _! {, `; ?! ~
$ u T9 _; s+ H- _" r9 H7 pPrentice 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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! i9 g0 ?& E$ |* W( X/ E0 rPrentice 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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