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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
2 }6 b4 ]/ }8 H8 TTuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil
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The price of oil hovered around $63 US/barrel Tuesday after one of its worst days in years Tuesday.* m3 o4 l' n& U# q6 g8 h# `
) {, D1 |& u3 _% g$ d5 DAnd Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.
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1 f8 o- Y4 c) s7 v6 j: cPrentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.
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* i% c2 `, t- B9 d# J& QTwo 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.”8 Q4 R1 [# G c) G3 n
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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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( r* L# R* A0 Z! O8 w4 l% qPrentice 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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0 m4 L3 A. V) S8 D9 H* O M“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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, ?4 A& S4 v* E' X% ^) ZTuesday’s comments come days after a Morgan Stanley report said crude oil prices could drop to $43 US/barrel in 2015 before rebounding.3 z! \( H" ^8 S, M' ~- ^( \1 y
0 `, w) }. G1 [) R b$ pLast year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.; O: U' K- X! G0 V' C
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Prentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.
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/ g# F% B L* E) b' l4 [% ^# X“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”% q) o8 V( ?5 \! m
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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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