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本帖最后由 爱城闲人 于 2014-12-9 20:36 编辑 : d$ Z% h9 U% A! n9 P, B9 q5 m
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Premier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget- d' l. y: J- P! K# m. Z
Tuesday, 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.: G( W3 D( v3 e& @3 B
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And Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.
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Prentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.
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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.”. R) `# s2 ^- \+ G% q5 n3 u
+ S8 B/ |5 x, b j1 ~% b5 aNow, with prices lower than $65 US/barrel, Prentice says low prices could leave a $6-$7 billion hole in Alberta’s $40 billion budget.! {6 w! D; K+ |4 P7 C2 f
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Prentice says the government will have to reduce spending if low prices are sustained. He says across-the-board cuts in spending won’t happen, instead Prentice says his government will focus on core services and limit spending below the rate of growth, plus inflation.2 |. V( T2 B6 [5 `! k2 Y d+ h, D
3 c3 x" b" P$ }“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.0 i6 E0 \! B, U( ?* ]
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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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Last year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.
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/ a9 H+ T/ @9 |5 x& nPrentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.8 {8 O K% p: e# f, ]( R5 G8 Z
6 [4 H% e+ R7 w* e“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”$ Q6 u" X8 k! {3 {3 F @3 ~
/ h$ R" w, d" ^9 D- Z+ s# g8 X) ^! [Prentice 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
狗仔卡
发表于 2014-12-9 15:59
显身卡
