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本帖最后由 爱城闲人 于 2014-12-9 20:36 编辑 : i' k0 n, g; Y4 i/ E
6 g5 Q V! z4 S: b- n/ HPremier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget# l( a! @( Z8 d. W
Tuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil: e& L2 ]" |& K7 q% M- D8 Z$ D3 s
* C) a6 E4 q9 }+ R3 BThe price of oil hovered around $63 US/barrel Tuesday after one of its worst days in years Tuesday.8 f$ P- q* p. ~: u0 }+ X, U
3 H2 n5 {4 @ g. `+ CAnd Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.
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; O) ?; Y3 S, v4 p3 K6 IPrentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.
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. G& u. e, d1 ]7 l! GTwo 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.”, ]3 M8 F1 L' A9 M9 k- \" O/ m
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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.2 d+ k! V- Z0 T
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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." L. B9 a5 ]! h
+ P+ N2 T4 c: U( M" ^7 \2 {“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.* ~. i, q( m; M7 Y
( d. c+ }( Y) p+ H% ?- u5 XTuesday’s comments come days after a Morgan Stanley report said crude oil prices could drop to $43 US/barrel in 2015 before rebounding.$ @2 K0 D( a ]
; t) V1 P" e, g. z: r6 d2 HLast year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.
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Prentice 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
狗仔卡
发表于 2014-12-9 15:59
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