Economist weighs in on Sask. mid-term budget report
In yesterday’s mid-term budget report, Finance Minister Donna Harpauer said a return to normal crop production and rising oil prices paired with strong oilfield investment is expected to support stronger economic growth in 2018.
Daniel Fields, an economist with the Conference Board of Canada said his organization has forecasted increases in oil prices but those predictions aren’t always stable.
“It’s always a tricky business forecasting oil, you never quite know,” Fields said. “The second you say [oil] is going to increase it goes the other way, but a pretty stable increase [in prices] is the general consensus and that’s in our forecast right now.”
Fields said it isn’t a good bet to rely strictly on oil prices but Saskatchewan has a diverse economy which should grow in many areas into 2018.