Sluggish oil prices continue to plague Alberta’s bottom line: fiscal update
EDMONTON — Sluggish oil prices are forcing Alberta to dip into its reserve fund and look for more in-house savings to keep its $10.5-billion deficit from sliding further into the red.
In his first-quarter fiscal update, Finance Minister Joe Ceci said the province had expected the West Texas Intermediate benchmark oil price to average out at US$55 a barrel this year.
Instead, it’s hovering below US$49 a barrel and isn’t expected to rise much in the near term.
“The forecast (at budget) in March was based on the best private sector forecasts available. The same is true of the updated forecast,” Ceci said Wednesday. “What it speaks to is a tremendous volatility in world oil markets.”