 鲜花( 1)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
本帖最后由 爱城闲人 于 2014-12-9 20:36 编辑 5 }- T1 N$ ?% Q) o$ o9 K3 \9 {5 T; l
5 L6 O6 A3 r% u9 j0 @( UPremier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget
- V2 B( W, p' u- F* L, {4 r$ U- ~/ N9 dTuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil
4 X2 q+ E& p( u( R$ p
9 }) ^: i5 E Q: f7 T$ k5 CThe price of oil hovered around $63 US/barrel Tuesday after one of its worst days in years Tuesday.
: P! C) ~, U) e: X$ l$ E- U0 T1 s$ w t8 F2 H4 A
And Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.
4 n/ ?1 _7 ?- K! T( S' h0 a
* b1 ?' y: Q+ d( gPrentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.6 W0 S# m6 R- \9 y
0 Q3 o" Z* @) l# [0 H5 z5 t/ `1 D
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.”
7 Y; w* n3 x+ H# d5 S2 R
[1 S3 g) h6 i& l u1 S: eNow, with prices lower than $65 US/barrel, Prentice says low prices could leave a $6-$7 billion hole in Alberta’s $40 billion budget.( @7 y! z2 [1 S& r
5 K3 A+ Q. D, l2 E) m# n- K- a
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.
" \" L* ]/ p1 B1 q- C1 G+ Q( |) Q) C7 v9 h- @
“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.; v3 n" W. H# u& r0 h( m" k1 z* b
1 t# L" M3 x; _
Tuesday’s comments come days after a Morgan Stanley report said crude oil prices could drop to $43 US/barrel in 2015 before rebounding. R1 \0 B+ k& w
9 n; K; `- c. ]
Last year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.# W B |& C, ~
H/ {" c8 N5 u: C" g0 B
Prentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.
' t$ {1 I5 e% _, }& L! n# i5 W: i: j2 Z; n* f2 q7 S+ b, v7 J7 ^4 A
“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”
% h& x- v1 T2 [9 u4 ], Q0 _0 G' d8 V4 ]3 X1 @ F" S9 t
Prentice also says the government is not considering a provincial sales tax to cover possible shortfalls from low oil prices.3 C e& b+ S0 U: E3 ^( ?+ _
|
|
楼主: 辽宁好汉
狗仔卡
发表于 2014-12-9 15:59
/ t! q# w+ q2 }5 }# ?- h4 A# v
显身卡
