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本帖最后由 爱城闲人 于 2014-12-9 20:36 编辑 {: f. V% }3 X: v$ s8 r
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Premier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget
$ e* I4 b s. G& g5 \% ATuesday, 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.
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And Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget., w0 H6 L8 F) o( r1 R
+ P) f* E1 O! M7 _Prentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.1 @ G3 ^) j' t5 P* X+ ~9 O9 C
[# g# w/ L3 f6 TTwo 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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8 {+ m& F" Y7 fNow, with prices lower than $65 US/barrel, Prentice says low prices could leave a $6-$7 billion hole in Alberta’s $40 billion budget.
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7 g7 C+ `$ Y8 _+ b8 {6 ^( hPrentice 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.5 D4 j& q( x4 g. [
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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.: g; o5 W8 W( j: f2 w6 P" K6 C
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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 $95 US/barrel.
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7 F/ c3 ?: Z& S0 R) @Prentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.3 z; i$ O- W* \. \. {4 r( ~) [
' B$ C2 z! j9 ~. ~. f“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”, f$ N1 y* l" D% Q# c; w0 I
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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
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发表于 2014-12-9 15:59
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