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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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2 G- t" ^5 W3 ?9 @0 f, s) x9 dPremier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget
6 C, S/ V5 C/ a6 H3 Y; K+ ^Tuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil
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! ~$ b1 L$ K) ~* x) Q' ~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 $7 billion hole in the province’s budget., E1 l8 X" \, r/ L5 d
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Prentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.+ e( W1 W9 S$ `! o* j* ?
/ s6 n% g8 t- V5 g) B0 OTwo 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.”4 B8 w1 J0 O0 F/ r; j4 g8 H
9 y. {5 H/ o# P0 y7 B* bNow, with prices lower than $65 US/barrel, Prentice says low prices could leave a $6-$7 billion hole in Alberta’s $40 billion budget.( W( S0 U* |+ ?( _3 j& H) ]( Q4 ?; b
3 K, j7 a; u) x& tPrentice says the government will have to reduce spending if low prices are sustained. He says across-the-board cuts in spending won’t happen, instead Prentice says his government will focus on core services and limit spending below the rate of growth, plus inflation.
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“It is incumbent on us to adjust our expectations and adjust our spending to begin to mitigate these risks for the long-term. And the solution cannot be to simply wait for the next upswing in prices,” he says.6 j }( P4 O" `+ r$ J1 a3 R* ]# I# u
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Tuesday’s comments come days after a Morgan Stanley report said crude oil prices could drop to $43 US/barrel in 2015 before rebounding.' B5 t/ P/ D( `0 ], E4 F' {
+ j8 o7 K/ J9 E$ fLast year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.
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Prentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.
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# O8 J1 l! w5 M+ ~6 z# x) U“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”- Y/ D4 Q1 n/ T. L3 k
" |5 k# C; N/ B9 YPrentice also says the government is not considering a provincial sales tax to cover possible shortfalls from low oil prices.3 G! B# O$ @+ {, v7 {
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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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