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本帖最后由 爱城闲人 于 2014-12-9 20:36 编辑 ' U6 N. M5 }: U j0 M. ]9 q
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Premier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget
- t+ U, R; v8 H+ fTuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil
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The price of oil hovered around $63 US/barrel Tuesday after one of its worst days in years Tuesday.$ d2 y& E6 w7 v8 M2 @0 G" [* J3 ?
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And Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.' U4 |" a+ T) X/ l
" i O5 p0 ^- kPrentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.
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F; o' z% J$ d% CTwo 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 $40 billion budget.9 A. b, B0 }# R. z C }$ R) t
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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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2 v6 \4 } M2 V) W% ~“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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# s" s0 t$ v% \3 X S* t1 L+ mTuesday’s comments come days after a Morgan Stanley report said crude oil prices could drop to $43 US/barrel in 2015 before rebounding.* l! x0 i- k+ f0 _
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Last year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.; w2 D* `5 G9 `% y: [
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Prentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates., W% D6 a" Q9 X! }( {* x0 Y* C
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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.”4 k" d4 U. B7 {" d6 ?9 f. g) C
0 u% W3 i7 C5 Y# P9 y; ?+ YPrentice also says the government is not considering a provincial sales tax to cover possible shortfalls from low oil prices.9 j8 A4 f0 j' Q+ u j) l
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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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