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本帖最后由 爱城闲人 于 2014-12-9 20:36 编辑 ! U: ?( ^9 c: p) f
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Premier Says Low Oil Prices Could Leave Hole in Provincial Budget
* |0 l8 H# x& |' G( x+ RTuesday, December 09, 2014 - Economy, Infrastructure, Oil0 x' X% j9 d! o( P+ ~
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The price of oil hovered around $63 US/barrel Tuesday after one of its worst days in years Tuesday.+ q! c) l9 K) P: ?% d
- z# X* ]5 e, |/ b. V2 vAnd Premier Jim Prentice says low prices could leave a $7 billion hole in the province’s budget.& K5 S& H! F& O6 Q' x, v0 U
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Prentice gave his “State of the Province” speech to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Tuesday.
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/ S5 i+ @: ?" X3 q7 d4 H8 B* pTwo 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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Now, with prices lower than $65 US/barrel, Prentice says low prices could leave a $6-$7 billion hole in Alberta’s $40 billion budget.
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Prentice says the government will have to reduce spending if low prices are sustained. He says across-the-board cuts in spending won’t happen, instead Prentice says his government will focus on core services and limit spending below the rate of growth, plus inflation.
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“It is incumbent on us to adjust our expectations and adjust our spending to begin to mitigate these risks for the long-term. And the solution cannot be to simply wait for the next upswing in prices,” he says." @$ h$ r# p/ t/ E4 q# 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.
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Last year’s provincial budget was based on a forecasted price of $95 US/barrel.' C8 G) V" h& q: q7 y: I
+ Z- X {1 G' e- v8 D4 ]* ~Prentice says future budgets will rely on much more conservative price estimates.
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) h7 a8 ~2 o3 T8 e% X2 `“In the long-term, a budget that is tied to to volatile energy prices year-in, year-out represents a significant risk.”8 Y, O* ?! m7 \& L; V" h
3 H8 N+ M$ @8 M2 t2 _7 v# ~) |% IPrentice 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
狗仔卡
发表于 2014-12-9 15:59
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