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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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: _/ J4 Y* S; D: K1 m* d% _2 i" TPremier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget
. D* R/ I) P1 [Tuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil
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4 Y) s6 A" T* C5 cThe 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.1 N; k9 u! q g8 s
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Prentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.4 _* [) q! s1 a. U% M) K
: X+ t6 F+ U1 aTwo 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 $40 billion budget.. m# z1 [% [8 e' J2 e; V2 m) N
& Q2 ~4 v2 i( M6 B$ z! O4 q! p. 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.
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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.9 `" k: Q5 _9 v: B V" O
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Last year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.. Y( g5 p; D( K4 o2 Y3 D
" T) _# Q" h2 v4 g, e9 x3 |, MPrentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.
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; l: B2 @0 f3 Q8 I2 c( \“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”& S' a% q; }: A1 n E2 r7 g9 ]: f
( U& P4 ?4 m/ h: [8 `& bPrentice also says the government is not considering a provincial sales tax to cover possible shortfalls from low oil prices.
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发表于 2014-12-9 15:59
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