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本帖最后由 爱城闲人 于 2014-12-9 20:36 编辑 y$ p+ W! I* c j
1 l" M! a @! }+ F0 z7 v4 O- [7 LPremier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget2 P4 `& L0 E$ n* L; W; l5 |) q
Tuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil
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$ `# u! ^8 m c! r( p) oThe 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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+ k& |) t7 p+ {+ d6 PPrentice 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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3 S2 R0 M2 w- G* yNow, with prices lower than $65 US/barrel, Prentice says low prices could leave a $6-$7 billion hole in Alberta’s $40 billion budget.' l& K( [9 q& ] m. |
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Prentice says the government will have to reduce spending if low prices are sustained. He says across-the-board cuts in spending won’t happen, instead Prentice says his government will focus on core services and limit spending below the rate of growth, plus inflation.
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“It is incumbent on us to adjust our expectations and adjust our spending to begin to mitigate these risks for the long-term. And the solution cannot be to simply wait for the next upswing in prices,” he says.' K" d6 t4 Q" w. [
% d+ @* A$ W7 U9 L% LTuesday’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 $95 US/barrel.
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* n0 F4 c2 w$ H8 O; ePrentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.
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8 g8 y5 M* f) p“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”
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0 u( q$ ?5 y/ l8 M$ [4 j% FPrentice 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
狗仔卡
发表于 2014-12-9 15:59
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