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本帖最后由 爱城闲人 于 2014-12-9 20:36 编辑
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Premier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget
3 M8 N+ i; O8 u9 s( N- N! _% Q, GTuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil
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. R# Y) y5 b( F3 N2 b. xThe price of oil hovered around $63 US/barrel Tuesday after one of its worst days in years Tuesday.8 @( M* e" D- K e, V' g% [% Q
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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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Prentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.
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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.”
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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 $40 billion budget.1 a! J+ D% M$ P( c3 }
m0 H5 s1 H1 B/ u, o" P, k4 U+ l* uPrentice 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.: c7 v/ V8 B9 b2 f
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“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.8 K% d8 \1 G4 y4 \. x% H
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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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0 W. V; x- v! {# g t6 q' eLast year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.8 W- R: m% G6 P# H* R/ p0 C9 A
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Prentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.
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“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”
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; r: ]4 V$ T3 ]2 RPrentice also says the government is not considering a provincial sales tax to cover possible shortfalls from low oil prices.5 P7 i3 U) \& a; D; E9 b( ~( z. b
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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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