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本帖最后由 爱城闲人 于 2014-12-9 20:36 编辑 ( \& k" V# y- P( C
+ q Q; {$ a, K$ M+ ^# pPremier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget
5 a" ^! [" m q) t/ n9 V" rTuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil9 u. _; Y) x! F# Z; Y- V* `
% A1 U, J" R3 u. DThe price of oil hovered around $63 US/barrel Tuesday after one of its worst days in years Tuesday.
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And Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.4 F; V: [6 Y; c/ f, M
# j& A" R: c3 O9 t1 h% w- GPrentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.( S4 u9 z# o3 n5 M" i, G
) {6 E$ n9 M7 D: {! W5 VTwo 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 $40 billion budget.* x3 H r9 Q, ?9 h$ X% 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.* }- c% h- f1 N5 @
' A% a4 o- W2 ~0 m/ m5 i1 w“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.5 Y6 U( T0 E( G: |0 y @; |" D
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Last year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.
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Prentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.
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“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”$ o7 {2 [1 r+ {( N! g% {
7 \+ n; n. a2 V: C* APrentice also says the government is not considering a provincial sales tax to cover possible shortfalls from low oil prices.0 B' l& w0 Y4 X) w+ \9 C
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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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