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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
% U' c, n5 z E h# {* YTuesday, 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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. M& G9 X6 y( JAnd Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.! ?3 Y* Z5 K4 t$ l
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Prentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.& G- C8 t& K' t/ J! k: T/ |
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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 $40 billion budget.
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6 N$ Z# H2 E; M6 G5 oPrentice 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.7 \! P8 e) M c& _9 M* `
$ m6 r2 N6 Z$ Z; H$ N$ s* T' ]“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 $43 US/barrel in 2015 before rebounding.( q4 a, D- o' P# K% I% j2 I# x
# G7 F/ G$ s# u2 t3 RLast year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.( J% b& Z1 P. i4 [
8 e, p2 s5 V+ xPrentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.# F5 k2 L5 Z4 L# Q$ _9 P8 e$ y3 o
1 ]+ N3 g- f7 K/ |% T8 ?6 f7 q“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”7 s8 I. T# y: Q0 @+ O! x5 o0 D" \
/ @! r8 u D" y* p8 j2 j) VPrentice also says the government is not considering a provincial sales tax to cover possible shortfalls from low oil prices." R( f+ m3 e+ b x) F
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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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