 鲜花( 1)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
本帖最后由 爱城闲人 于 2014-12-9 20:36 编辑 5 p7 {8 m8 i( T8 a4 J
; p9 \4 U) X/ |2 Z$ ?( B. P. u8 _/ t0 X
Premier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget3 K9 J& N0 k! Z: L
Tuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil
/ Q4 L( y3 L) L0 K
' z$ R7 O8 S+ Y9 tThe price of oil hovered around $63 US/barrel Tuesday after one of its worst days in years Tuesday.- M) L h1 o {& u3 |0 o
6 }2 `& U" ~( q; d, F; G7 M& }6 m! s
And Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.
' T7 z( z6 B7 V* Q
% q+ }4 H1 a$ P/ I; I/ p4 m; @4 H2 g+ ~Prentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.% m/ E. Z2 X7 B3 z! g# W) I5 E5 T% o3 h
* A4 \+ N O* Y5 p
Two weeks ago, the Premier said the government expected oil prices to end the year between $65 US/barrel and $75 US/barrel. At that time he said low prices would have “consequences for all Albertans.”4 b2 W2 l2 G2 s+ h$ j& \
" H m* G0 J. O/ |. B: U; d" yNow, with prices lower than $65 US/barrel, Prentice says low prices could leave a $6-$7 billion hole in Alberta’s $40 billion budget.% z j; h+ C, Q; [4 r2 b: }
' \2 n+ r) S! K% K. _3 w P% `: N
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.
' |% G& @: [. p1 K: v6 _' P3 I- ]5 g4 G* ?! x' S1 E
“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.' U3 N7 w Z1 C! s
( C3 k: m/ H4 `/ cTuesday’s comments come days after a Morgan Stanley report said crude oil prices could drop to $43 US/barrel in 2015 before rebounding.6 S: ?% h/ ~7 \2 ~% E1 a5 K
* m" a' e9 ?* C4 d8 u
Last year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.4 [' ]" m5 y* n( o4 S: M
+ z! V9 K3 N* i/ ] s! qPrentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.
( W8 [$ l k! L) ~* ^7 i/ o' @
9 { \8 z& | U9 n“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”
1 `" z( A) Y' y$ }
7 V7 O m! q% T' TPrentice also says the government is not considering a provincial sales tax to cover possible shortfalls from low oil prices.( g6 ?$ I! }* q$ w
|
|
楼主: 辽宁好汉
狗仔卡
发表于 2014-12-9 15:59
U$ {: N& r d1 Y8 M ?, ]9 Z3 ~
显身卡
