Norway Interest Rate

The Norges Bank kept its key interest rate steady at 4.5% during its March 2024 meeting, in line with market expectations, and signaled it will remain at the current level until the autumn before gradually moving down. The central bank noted that monetary policy is having a tightening effect, and growth in the Norwegian economy is low. Price inflation is slowing but is still markedly above target. Also, business costs have increased sharply over the past years, and high wage growth and the krone depreciation through 2023 will contribute to keeping inflation elevated ahead. Meanwhile, economic growth is projected to remain low through the first half of 2024 before picking up. Unemployment will likely edge up, but a little less than anticipated in December. Inflation is projected to slow somewhat faster in 2024 than projected earlier and to approach 2% towards the end of 2027.