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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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' v* X$ S3 q7 L! R y3 KPremier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget
& j0 l, K- l/ F; V0 qTuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil
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/ |) p$ _% B& ]0 D1 y* Z0 BThe price of oil hovered around $63 US/barrel Tuesday after one of its worst days in years Tuesday.1 h% H7 K7 v9 o
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And Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.- w$ |3 _0 I# C) `7 _) c+ ~
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Prentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.
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$ \ s& k# r- q9 C$ D, {+ n/ oTwo 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.”# \) s+ e: ^# M& Y' |2 F1 J7 D" c
4 z2 q9 Z# v$ NNow, 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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0 _. B0 I2 j6 m* ]" x0 h: X" |/ sPrentice 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.) r( S; t; p: B% f& L6 p0 `0 ~0 |' A
! Z ]- T! Z' b1 t" Q“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.' u/ t. R; B" I, B
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Tuesday’s comments come days after a Morgan Stanley report said crude oil prices could drop to $43 US/barrel in 2015 before rebounding.
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' X2 Y) B4 D8 p: Z) U$ `Last year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.6 Z/ B( ?( v8 H; |# E& k3 F
' e/ E- D" E7 t$ t# |Prentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.+ |- ~6 ?1 I( ] M5 o' {( z
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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.”- K5 H9 A) b$ h) w% S5 V( g" k
! i5 y8 L2 h8 [* S ^Prentice also says the government is not considering a provincial sales tax to cover possible shortfalls from low oil prices.
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发表于 2014-12-9 15:59
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