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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. W; Z: W# ? E( L* D+ M
Tuesday, 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.
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% H& Y! \2 j8 UAnd Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.* J2 ?5 ^4 y; s! y. X- x
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Prentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.: B! C: L7 u3 \0 ~* l1 g9 Q
5 w- l0 P% p2 b9 q* @Two weeks ago, the Premier said the government expected oil prices to end the year between $65 US/barrel and $75 US/barrel. At that time he said low prices would have “consequences for all Albertans.”6 g) T; U& `( @6 s7 X: h$ X1 w( O
/ K! G# s4 G: Q" i% U) eNow, with prices lower than $65 US/barrel, Prentice says low prices could leave a $6-$7 billion hole in Alberta’s $40 billion budget.
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/ n* C# H% a6 I# @. O7 { ^; yPrentice 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.0 \( D$ F" J" ~2 V1 R& y
3 g' e4 k* A3 g1 F$ A4 c“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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Last year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.
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8 l ?/ \9 Z3 K' W/ r: O* GPrentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.
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8 n2 w# ^# [2 o* W5 B# a$ K“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”( @2 C6 l3 y) u8 z) m% R
5 c3 N" R3 Q5 M: \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
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发表于 2014-12-9 15:59
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