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本帖最后由 爱城闲人 于 2014-12-9 20:36 编辑
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Premier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget# J$ } s+ y4 D# J
Tuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil% v9 J3 z0 t; [# b9 ^
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The price of oil hovered around $63 US/barrel Tuesday after one of its worst days in years Tuesday.
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8 p4 P( `/ [- `" w$ X2 T" @And Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.1 \* l& H, H: H$ z' V- j
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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.”9 N. F8 A2 T) H3 A, Y. e
; ~* G( g; D6 N1 J" HNow, with prices lower than $65 US/barrel, Prentice says low prices could leave a $6-$7 billion hole in Alberta’s $40 billion budget.: p+ ^* m7 q( g& M
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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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“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.+ e2 Q( A( y9 t" L* a1 |
! ?# N9 C% F% I y7 ?5 o( K% pTuesday’s comments come days after a Morgan Stanley report said crude oil prices could drop to $43 US/barrel in 2015 before rebounding.; x" P# e, J" g1 o" o# Y _
0 B% _2 k4 ?! Y { Z# }8 bLast year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.
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3 k9 N2 s: [7 E1 {& t/ _Prentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.
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“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”
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# [! F0 p, r! J, s, @$ pPrentice 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
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发表于 2014-12-9 15:59
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