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本帖最后由 爱城闲人 于 2014-12-9 20:36 编辑 ' k. ?3 a r" i! d
& Q& S* D8 k$ ?8 lPremier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget
! f/ }( I \9 y, v! {Tuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil" M$ H; a7 ~6 t4 x9 Q* [
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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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- R c& w4 G6 {; I) n3 P# qAnd Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget. _/ C9 w+ s' G9 {, z# E2 \
: ^ k/ [3 A5 `/ {' ]; vPrentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.
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+ b& {& I* w" w+ c+ T4 VTwo weeks ago, the Premier said the government expected oil prices to end the year between $65 US/barrel and $75 US/barrel. At that time he said low prices would have “consequences for all Albertans.”9 S3 @0 r2 s$ ~0 m9 Q0 N2 d# ?* z
6 ?; C3 Z1 I" W, o% ?: u/ PNow, with prices lower than $65 US/barrel, Prentice says low prices could leave a $6-$7 billion hole in Alberta’s $40 billion budget." d3 I7 V/ f! ~, a8 j8 s* z
, h: b. ~$ A& ^% I( Y& _3 W; {4 fPrentice 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.5 t1 c9 E2 O( ]7 d3 X
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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., R( f& F# W" E/ e: q+ l* X! Q
# @+ h @ `" ETuesday’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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5 g2 K% L2 O3 A7 ]. @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.
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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.”
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Prentice also says the government is not considering a provincial sales tax to cover possible shortfalls from low oil prices., S7 b' W" C F0 [6 A( @( n
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