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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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Premier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget
j9 r) `+ z- z _9 GTuesday, 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.
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And Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.
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/ }. {5 y! k& k! }6 F8 r; bPrentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday./ M$ E* ^4 D. H( T1 M5 z/ M- F
3 e: _ j! c# M5 eTwo 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.”7 R! F" i' Q1 w, w0 R
/ Y4 m" x9 u! QNow, with prices lower than $65 US/barrel, Prentice says low prices could leave a $6-$7 billion hole in Alberta’s $40 billion budget.0 V/ i/ k5 `9 l* |& g" ?
0 I: x, {2 s1 n/ DPrentice 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.
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9 b1 E B t( TTuesday’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 $95 US/barrel.
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Prentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.9 h8 O1 R( o5 D8 L8 J" {
# ?* a1 ]- c0 n, e% ~# P“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”' W# U* S$ W3 C
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Prentice also says the government is not considering a provincial sales tax to cover possible shortfalls from low oil prices.4 Z0 {" @) B8 ?3 }5 m
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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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