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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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2 ~3 Y2 ?# {( [' A J# cPremier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget
- U, `2 S* z; w6 c% n4 P4 HTuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil4 i C( W y! @1 s( V$ M* K/ h
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The price of oil hovered around $63 US/barrel Tuesday after one of its worst days in years Tuesday.9 S7 _, x/ D0 K6 M/ G( Z$ e/ B+ y
3 }! E% F9 L' D, Z! cAnd Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.2 t% l/ |) \# u( F) c4 d: I& U
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Prentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.4 H8 Z# B% O3 j. J% R+ u
& j; r" C9 h# A/ N/ z) C& fTwo 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 $40 billion budget.
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% C& I# T2 A+ g* ~' EPrentice says the government will have to reduce spending if low prices are sustained. He says across-the-board cuts in spending won’t happen, instead Prentice says his government will focus on core services and limit spending below the rate of growth, plus inflation." T1 K$ ^# c/ n& K) [" a% x
) L9 E) P5 Y0 z“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.) e# I6 b/ B6 \6 ]+ \
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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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# ^. E, T8 h& }" C6 eLast year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.
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4 x4 E! Q" i3 p/ n8 K1 o2 R; a7 ^Prentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.
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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.”
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Prentice also says the government is not considering a provincial sales tax to cover possible shortfalls from low oil prices." d% l: ^- c3 B' T* R
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楼主: 辽宁好汉
狗仔卡
发表于 2014-12-9 15:59
显身卡
