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本帖最后由 爱城闲人 于 2014-12-9 20:36 编辑 ( S0 M# T; k) {
) v/ q( ?2 r0 _Premier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget
& [" [! t- }0 w8 C7 O7 |Tuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil! J, `8 W6 l( Q0 f$ v# H3 L" L) }
9 o$ F# u- Q6 ?, JThe 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.
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Prentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.
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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 $40 billion budget.( r/ H7 P- y0 X# ~' E
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Prentice says the government will have to reduce spending if low prices are sustained. He says across-the-board cuts in spending won’t happen, instead Prentice says his government will focus on core services and limit spending below the rate of growth, plus inflation.
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! T* j- B* h7 g: a, O“It is incumbent on us to adjust our expectations and adjust our spending to begin to mitigate these risks for the long-term. And the solution cannot be to simply wait for the next upswing in prices,” he says." f$ O4 k5 \5 m3 M% H" m* u5 n
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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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. L0 Y0 a2 v+ q6 I0 b" |Last year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.# X# T7 F( `2 h) W0 P
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Prentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.7 F& j. d- z; L m/ g
) ]* k- r ~2 w# y, u“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”# l( V3 g; W8 {3 D
. h9 S7 O0 `0 @" i1 c# pPrentice 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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