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本帖最后由 爱城闲人 于 2014-12-9 20:36 编辑 4 h7 M* @% I8 A$ Q* d
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Premier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget, E/ k& _& z4 |
Tuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil2 [# s" w& G$ i: B, J
$ f/ I \* n5 i. j9 I$ l; z0 VThe price of oil hovered around $63 US/barrel Tuesday after one of its worst days in years Tuesday.# X) U" }0 u" F9 T) t
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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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* b5 U7 i8 @( u7 `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.”
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& j! T" B+ T: o% ~+ ^4 kNow, 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.
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% {: e0 G& ` A+ }“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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; d) ?/ P: Y4 J+ |9 cTuesday’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/ @3 S, Z W K* ?: zLast year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.$ I% U$ K, l! N" H
5 e b V2 M8 ~, |) ]Prentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.
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& F2 G- M9 h. E“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.. C p6 Z' R0 s# n9 v. ?
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楼主: 辽宁好汉
狗仔卡
发表于 2014-12-9 15:59
显身卡
