Analysts and economists had expected Norway’s central bank to keep interest rates at their record low levels and expressed approval when that’s what happened this week. One analyst called the decision “reasonable.”
Economic activity has picked up in recent months, central bank boss Øystein Olsen stated in a press release, but that activity is still lower than before the Corona pandemic swept over the globe. Unemployment rates have declined but are still high, Olsen noted.
He suggested that the outlook means Norges Bank‘s key policy rate will “most probably” remain at today’s level of 0 percent for quite a while.
Kyrre Aamdal, senior economist at DNB Markets in Oslo, stated that the central bank’s board has time to wait for a broader evaluation of the economy in its September report.
Lending activity remains brisk, meanwhile, along with the real estate market, which continues to yield record-high prices for both housing and holiday property. One of the major reasons for boosting interest rates would be as part of an effort to cool the market down.
newsinenglish.no staff
