 鲜花( 1)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
本帖最后由 爱城闲人 于 2014-12-9 20:36 编辑 5 {. _ P. {* W6 D$ Q: e
+ P8 C# T- g9 s7 M0 R( b
Premier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget" ? x+ n/ L! a/ l! S$ ?, p! s
Tuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil
5 @ ~ f6 t1 @% x( P. F4 Q5 o7 Y3 t" V% u5 K x% J \
The price of oil hovered around $63 US/barrel Tuesday after one of its worst days in years Tuesday.
) @* |0 q% j* w' v1 q) N6 d0 T+ k3 ^' \5 [8 s
And Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.
0 }$ `( ]' b* V9 y; j/ ^$ V# V1 o2 g
Prentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.# Y, p4 D1 q( ], M" R4 j
: X: v8 E/ l3 p( t* O# ^Two weeks ago, the Premier said the government expected oil prices to end the year between $65 US/barrel and $75 US/barrel. At that time he said low prices would have “consequences for all Albertans.”& V9 H; ^$ b5 Q% n
7 i; v2 G9 G! n9 ~" {1 r
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.( y+ P5 o% G/ G; j% a! k3 x
$ k, ^5 G; b9 ?% V
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.. P) z8 T6 K: |# \# G1 G$ o. Z2 j
) z5 O$ @/ ?9 ?! Y
“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.
8 h# ~3 b6 O- g5 t: F$ J% p
' f6 b* L2 _- N6 ETuesday’s comments come days after a Morgan Stanley report said crude oil prices could drop to $43 US/barrel in 2015 before rebounding.
# n- V( g3 t. \1 i% L
- V2 n; W1 o2 kLast year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.- S( F2 v' H8 I3 L! x8 ]( ^: X4 [
8 W# j1 D/ V7 t! J+ b, N
Prentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.
+ ]: T9 V, e+ U$ U6 f9 q
! w; g% \; ~# z/ J“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”
% G+ v( J5 f$ m: y& D4 J' {( L2 S3 P% a7 b) ~
Prentice also says the government is not considering a provincial sales tax to cover possible shortfalls from low oil prices.* p4 R! N) R0 N7 x8 G
|
|
楼主: 辽宁好汉
狗仔卡
发表于 2014-12-9 15:59
1 F0 i1 g& b7 g. O2 m. E
显身卡
