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本帖最后由 爱城闲人 于 2014-12-9 20:36 编辑 / @$ z! v6 |, @6 d a% O1 X
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Premier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget
+ l3 L. T3 o& i% u* }5 w3 P @* MTuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil" f9 X% _) B( R; @# I) W
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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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2 o/ f0 K0 D r5 ~4 u5 \And Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.
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# W3 f9 S# S% V9 E& I. f3 U: j( ~Prentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.$ t7 { e+ J( ~, j
8 k1 M3 X" c3 g/ N. k# rTwo 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 $40 billion budget.
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Prentice says the government will have to reduce spending if low prices are sustained. He says across-the-board cuts in spending won’t happen, instead Prentice says his government will focus on core services and limit spending below the rate of growth, plus inflation.; Z# M5 r" L$ g; v$ \! K7 V3 ^
. C/ |, K+ O- a; }1 n/ P- ]# 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." P5 v) |8 F" B: v1 f8 J G
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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.# X) a& d3 {/ i2 c5 b( k3 A4 j9 J
* g3 p: D6 U5 V5 K- ULast year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.
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- Y8 N! q9 t& tPrentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates./ Z: v6 v2 q' B+ O& }2 g) e: C
" w" J9 I& h% w# ^; y2 M9 P“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”
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Prentice also says the government is not considering a provincial sales tax to cover possible shortfalls from low oil prices. e9 T8 C$ \5 D0 J2 h
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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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