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本帖最后由 爱城闲人 于 2014-12-9 20:36 编辑 ' x; L6 `+ W: H0 u
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Premier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget
# k ] M6 R' w3 I5 f% eTuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil
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1 i5 s3 g, W% t! l8 F& v- oThe price of oil hovered around $63 US/barrel Tuesday after one of its worst days in years Tuesday.
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( ]. \4 W7 F# ~! C7 BAnd Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.
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# E v( s4 ^- Y* N! VPrentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.0 D5 [2 j8 g& A
) {( X. d( X+ R/ u+ lTwo 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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( F# J( g9 \. S4 ^+ F; wNow, with prices lower than $65 US/barrel, Prentice says low prices could leave a $6-$7 billion hole in Alberta’s $40 billion budget.
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3 R1 g! |; u0 y# l9 ~0 LPrentice says the government will have to reduce spending if low prices are sustained. He says across-the-board cuts in spending won’t happen, instead Prentice says his government will focus on core services and limit spending below the rate of growth, plus inflation.3 u' b$ V* l, q/ o$ g. E& v% @6 ~! ~
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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.) q# k5 X% A4 S, W
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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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* z- ^, i. W' ^" }& u/ U) J) H7 U/ R% \Last year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.& b* n# ?( k: M; r& @& M
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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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. y( `& V% u1 z' Z! W% HPrentice also says the government is not considering a provincial sales tax to cover possible shortfalls from low oil prices.8 j: D2 S% N# B5 v6 n' \0 W. \3 {
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楼主: 辽宁好汉
狗仔卡
发表于 2014-12-9 15:59
显身卡
