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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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7 H( Y' c8 g: z. W4 CPremier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget7 l' x- a9 g0 ]1 S9 X
Tuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil
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/ {0 w* U5 o3 J3 y R" v% n$ |/ R+ `The price of oil hovered around $63 US/barrel Tuesday after one of its worst days in years Tuesday.
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' O! _8 w' D' d- w3 j) j( \& gAnd Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.% I( m0 d& R9 p/ c
/ P1 Y0 `! s- [' |1 A1 TPrentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.0 x3 q9 r6 z3 B a
- r7 U* X$ P3 \5 C! }Two weeks ago, the Premier said the government expected oil prices to end the year between $65 US/barrel and $75 US/barrel. At that time he said low prices would have “consequences for all Albertans.”) g( H$ t# m. I
7 w! X5 P; u/ E8 I' k) TNow, with prices lower than $65 US/barrel, Prentice says low prices could leave a $6-$7 billion hole in Alberta’s $40 billion budget.8 i& ?$ A2 j+ n. h
& D2 K5 H) s$ {. G- J6 S ^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.- N4 l6 Q7 Y$ w5 @
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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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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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Last year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.
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Prentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates., v2 p: }- W m, U; h( t' u- C
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“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”, a2 Q. W z$ f+ w* G5 X2 z7 {
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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 E) E5 U: u/ W2 B
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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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