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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
1 A1 k6 w* G7 \/ @2 qTuesday, 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.- a1 `8 n, z: O
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And Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.
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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.”7 D. o& b6 f0 o( q# W3 Z
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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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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.' v4 v7 I: Y0 k9 f9 ]2 y
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Tuesday’s comments come days after a Morgan Stanley report said crude oil prices could drop to $43 US/barrel in 2015 before rebounding.# v; E, I& t: d' ] Q' C$ g+ U
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Last year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.1 { I y3 E2 e3 S, Z2 J) o, g# |
' V& l: K$ I! q' ~. l5 N. FPrentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.. x' {+ y- }! o6 b h
$ Q2 e0 G* {" R+ q“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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( B( O* S& q+ E9 M, 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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