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本帖最后由 爱城闲人 于 2014-12-9 20:36 编辑 7 Q" J; b& j& w( C2 u
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Premier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget
. [, C0 M6 T2 ]2 G5 UTuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil( p# s& }: x. f# q# p
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The price of oil hovered around $63 US/barrel Tuesday after one of its worst days in years Tuesday.
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2 \7 |3 Y3 e$ f5 C$ x- kAnd Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.6 K0 y. o+ y+ ?. ?+ I, K! _$ W# j: A
/ |+ z2 Y0 G5 F; XPrentice 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 $75 US/barrel. At that time he said low prices would have “consequences for all Albertans.”9 ]4 a; C% m4 n0 x- G$ |1 j& z
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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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. W s5 G. j5 W% G( d+ aPrentice 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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“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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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 $95 US/barrel.
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Prentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.$ g0 I3 ~, _/ A( Y3 z
5 q" Q& o6 W* b7 Q: Z! o/ |3 u& m“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”4 T: \: Q+ ?: N
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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
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