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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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6 x2 k" q0 v7 s$ `/ zPremier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget
' m+ c, O' W% M( hTuesday, 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.9 i5 S3 m9 D! f
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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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0 R% e# T6 N( I+ m/ `Prentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.( W! ~3 c4 |. N6 {
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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.”
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, B4 P8 C2 t9 Z) d+ B% g/ {& sNow, 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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m( m' o( i; f, 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.3 H6 ^% g% w- D; a- Y# m- [" o
! u/ J% W; j3 b! {“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.! o: ~8 Z' [* `5 J" O, n! B9 w4 B
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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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/ ~3 o3 H+ Q5 s2 X) i% V+ `Last year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.' O d! u5 g" P4 o# O. P# H
- D: r% u4 @3 ]2 P3 APrentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates. N1 N) W/ v' f: m
3 f6 E+ c. X+ @“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”. _1 k5 Y" y+ w* q1 ^
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Prentice also says the government is not considering a provincial sales tax to cover possible shortfalls from low oil prices.1 A# ^, w$ M4 q% w6 k# w" r
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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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