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本帖最后由 爱城闲人 于 2014-12-9 20:36 编辑 ! g! Y/ Q, X% I
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Premier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget
& f$ Z3 I. ?' k+ P6 z* B. M: rTuesday, 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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1 q1 y9 E3 t* _; }And Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.
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% _0 Q5 l% P7 k: l4 ZPrentice 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.”/ ^" K* @. }& G9 X9 H1 x9 L7 k
0 e! P7 P, g+ xNow, with prices lower than $65 US/barrel, Prentice says low prices could leave a $6-$7 billion hole in Alberta’s $40 billion budget.9 G1 ~7 J% u' G6 b8 [
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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.- W) c4 }! f3 n6 G! W
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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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/ c. L1 x4 g+ a2 K( |+ e) l' I# GTuesday’s comments come days after a Morgan Stanley report said crude oil prices could drop to $43 US/barrel in 2015 before rebounding. G" b4 g2 y8 o1 ?6 t7 h
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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.! a. W& X( Z R2 I# D/ W. ]
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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.”1 t. Z4 f5 K* w
) ^6 j) v6 E5 v# dPrentice 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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