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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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Premier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget
. m: g+ i6 s) i2 vTuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil
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The price of oil hovered around $63 US/barrel Tuesday after one of its worst days in years Tuesday.
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/ o! a/ L$ i- H, ~1 @. {And Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.3 L% }" i2 V \; W! Y2 s e2 I
4 B$ W9 ?1 f6 zPrentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.+ |: ^- }* u `( C( J4 T n
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Two weeks ago, the Premier said the government expected oil prices to end the year between $65 US/barrel and $75 US/barrel. At that time he said low prices would have “consequences for all Albertans.”9 M2 m$ A' z& A
# S6 }/ z. e! q0 H) m9 fNow, with prices lower than $65 US/barrel, Prentice says low prices could leave a $6-$7 billion hole in Alberta’s $40 billion budget.
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Prentice says the government will have to reduce spending if low prices are sustained. He says across-the-board cuts in spending won’t happen, instead Prentice says his government will focus on core services and limit spending below the rate of growth, plus inflation.; v8 p' O; ^+ B' `* G: Q4 E
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“It is incumbent on us to adjust our expectations and adjust our spending to begin to mitigate these risks for the long-term. And the solution cannot be to simply wait for the next upswing in prices,” he says.
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; x6 d2 }2 |; ~3 P$ y2 v6 LTuesday’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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. i+ M1 R0 s, ]1 ] E% x) b1 cLast year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.1 L1 G! z) N$ {
9 T t5 b' x) {8 O# O) }2 c% uPrentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.
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; L) W* s2 L+ T“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”5 ?+ D+ B8 v* V
1 b1 j0 ^1 d0 ^, B; ^% R. cPrentice also says the government is not considering a provincial sales tax to cover possible shortfalls from low oil prices.
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楼主: 辽宁好汉
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发表于 2014-12-9 15:59
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