In the December 2000 Inflation Report, Norges Bank projects consumer prices to increase by 3 per cent in 2001 and 2½ per cent in 2002. Price inflation is projected at an average 2¼ per cent for the period 2003-2004. The inflation projections are based on the assumption that interest rates move in line with market expectations, as implied by forward rates on 14 December. The fall in forward rates has been so pronounced that this has influenced the projections for price inflation and economic developments. Given an interest rate at around the current level, the inflation projection would be a little less than 2 per cent from the end of 2002. The estimates for 2002 exclude the isolated and temporary effect of a halving of VAT on food with effect from 1 July 2001.

Interest rates were left unchanged at Norges Bank’s Executive Board meeting on 13 December. Norges Bank’s key rate, the sight deposit rate, therefore remains at 7.00 per cent. The overnight lending rate also remains unchanged.

Interest rates were left unchanged at Norges Bank's Executive Board meeting on 13 December. Norges Bank's key rate, the sight deposit rate, therefore remains at 7.00 per cent. The overnight lending rate also remains unchanged.

Norges Bank has today announced new mandates for management of equity portfolios in the Government Petroleum Fund. Mandates have previously been allocated to 14 external managers, 10 of whom are engaged in management of equity portfolios.

At the end of the third quarter of 2000, the Government Petroleum Fund had a market value of NOK 357 billion.

In its consultative statement to the Norwegian Banking, Insurance and Securities Commission, Norges Bank recommends that MeritaNordbanken be allowed to acquire Christiania Bank (Kreditkassen). In its evaluation of the application, Norges Bank makes the stability of the Norwegian financial market a fundamental consideration. In addition, the Bank considers the effects on competition in the Norwegian market and the financial strength of the bank.

Stability in the Norwegian financial system is satisfactory, according to Norges Bank in the Financial Stability 2/2000 report, which analyses the situation in the financial sector. The total risk in the banking sector is considered to be limited in the short term. In the slightly longer term, special attention should be given to the relatively high credit risk associated with loans to enterprises and continued high liquidity risk in connection with banks’ substantial and, in part, short-term foreign debt.

Norges Bank’s Executive Board will continue its practice of engaging in a broad discussion of monetary policy every six weeks. Any decisions concerning interest rate changes or other important changes in the use of monetary policy instruments will normally be taken at these meetings. The Executive Board’s decisions will be announced the same day at 2 pm.

Interest rates were left unchanged at Norges Bank’s Executive Board meeting on 1 November. The interest rate on banks’ sight deposits with Norges Bank and the overnight lending rate therefore remain at 7.00 per cent and 9.00 per cent respectively.

Interest rates were left unchanged at Norges Bank’s Executive Board meeting on 1 November. The interest rate on banks’ sight deposits with Norges Bank and the overnight lending rate therefore remain at 7.00 per cent and 9.00 per cent respectively.

Norges Bank has presented its views on the formulation of economic policy for 2001 in a submission of 19 October 2000 to the Ministry of Finance. The submission is now available on Norges Bank’s web site at www.norges-bank.no

Norges Bank projects consumer price inflation at 3 per cent in 2000, 2¾ per cent in 2001 and 2¼ per cent in 2002. Compared with the June Inflation Report, the estimate for this year remains unchanged, while the estimate for 2001 has been adjusted upwards by a quarter percentage point. The estimate for 2002 has been lowered by a quarter percentage point.

Norges Bank's Executive Board has today decided to increase the interest rate on banks' sight deposits and the overnight lending rate by 0.50 percentage point with effect from 15 June. The deposit rate will then be 6.25 per cent and the overnight lending rate will be 8.25 per cent. In the light of recent trends in the economy and the current balance of risks, the probability that the next change in interest rates will be an increase is greater than the probability of a reduction.

Norges Bank's Executive Board did not decide to change interest rates at its meeting today. Hence, the interest rate on banks' sight deposits with Norges Bank and the overnight lending rate remain at 5.75 per cent and 7.75 per cent, respectively.

At today's meeting, Norges Bank's Executive Board decided to increase the interest rate on banks' sight deposits and the overnight lending rate by 0.25 percentage point with effect from 21 September. The deposit rate and overnight lending rate will hence be 7.00 per cent and 9.00 per cent respectively. Today's decision to raise interests rates brings the overall increase in interest rates to 1.5 percentage points over the past six months.

At today's meeting, Norges Bank's Executive Board decided to increase the interest rate on banks' sight deposits and the overnight lending rate by 0.50 percentage point with effect from 10 August. The deposit rate and overnight lending rate will hence be 6.75 per cent and 8.75 per cent respectively. In the light of recent trends in the economy and the current balance of risks, the probability that the next change in interest rates will be an increase is greater than the probability of a reduction.

Interest rates were left unchanged at Norges Bank's Executive Board meeting on 16 February. The interest rate on banks' sight deposits with Norges Bank and the overnight lending rate therefore remain at 5.5 per cent and 7.5 per cent respectively.

Interest rates were left unchanged at Norges Bank's Executive Board meeting of 19 January.
The interest rate on banks' sight deposits with Norges Bank and the overnight lending rate therefore remain at 5.5 per cent and 7.5 per cent respectively.

Norges Bank's Executive Board has today decided to increase the interest rate on banks' deposits with Norges Bank, the deposit rate, by 0.25 percentage point with effect from Thursday, 13 April 2000. The interest rate on central bank overnight loans to banks will also be increased by 0.25 percentage point. The deposit rate will be 5.75 per cent and the overnight lending rate will be 7.75 per cent starting from 13 April.

Interest rates were left unchanged at Norges Bank's Executive Board meeting on 16 March. The interest rate on banks' sight deposits with Norges Bank and the overnight lending rate therefore remain at 5.5 per cent and 7.5 per cent respectively.

Norges Bank has decided to increase the interest rate on banks’ deposits with Norges Bank, the deposit rate, by 0.25 percentage point with effect from Thursday 21 September. The interest on central bank overnight loans to banks will also be increased by 0.25 percentage point. The deposit rate and overnight lending rate will hence be 7.00 per cent and 9.00 per cent respectively.

Norges Bank wants the media, markets and other interested parties to receive identical and simultaneous information on monetary policy decisions. For this reason, the Bank is launching online live sound recordings of our press conferences via the Norges Bank website. Please note that hereafter there will be no opportunity for radio/television to conduct separate interviews after press conferences (with the exception of live news broadcasts later in the day). All questions at press conferences must be asked in plenary.

The return on the Government Petroleum Fund in the second quarter of 2000 was zero per cent measured against the currency basket that corresponds to the composition of the Fund's benchmark portfolio. A negative return on the equity portfolio was counterbalanced by a positive return on the fixed income portfolio. The returns on the portfolios in the second quarter were -1.7 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively. The return on the Petroleum Fund in the first half of the year was 2.4 per cent.

Norges Bank has decided to increase the interest rate on banks' deposits with Norges Bank, the deposit rate, by 0.50 percentage point with effect from Thursday, 10 August 2000. The interest rate on central bank overnight loans to banks will also be increased by 0.50 percentage point. The deposit rate and overnight lending rate will hence be 6.75 per cent and 8.75 per cent respectively.

Norges Bank's projections for price and cost inflation have been revised up for the years ahead. Consumer price inflation is estimated at 3 per cent in 2000 and 2½ per cent in 2001. For 2002, the rate of increase in prices is projected to remain at around 2½ per cent. Compared with the March Report, inflation projections have been revised upwards by ¼ percentage point in 2000, ½ percentage point next year and ¼ percentage point in 2002. The upward revision primarily reflects higher labour costs and a weaker krone exchange rate, but a slightly stronger external inflationary impetus is also a contributing factor.

Norges Bank, the Central Bank of Norway, has decided to increase the interest rate on banks' deposits with Norges Bank, the deposit rate, by 0.50 percentage point with effect from Thursday, 15 June 2000. The interest rate on central bank overnight loans to banks will also be increased by 0.50 percentage point. The deposit rate will be 6.25 per cent and the overnight lending rate will be 8.25 per cent starting from 15 June.

The return on the Government Petroleum Fund in the first quarter of 2000 was 2.4 per cent measured against the currency basket that corresponds to the composition of the Fund's benchmark portfolio. A return of 2.7 per cent was recorded on the equity portfolio, while the return on the fixed income portfolio was 2.1 per cent.

Stability in the Norwegian financial system is satisfactory according to Norges Bank's report Financial Stability 1/2000, which presents an analysis of the situation in the financial sector. The overall risk exposure of banks is considered to be limited in the short term. In the somewhat longer term, losses on loans to enterprises are expected to increase to some extent.

In the second half of 2000, the Executive Board of Norges Bank plans to engage in an extensive discussion of monetary policy every six weeks instead of once a month. Any decisions about interest rate changes or the use of monetary policy instruments will normally be taken at these meetings. Decisions concerning interest rate changes will be announced on the same day at 2 pm.

Interest rates were left unchanged at Norges Bank's Executive Board Meeting on 10 May. The interest rate on banks' sight deposits with Norges Bank and the overnight lending rate therefore remain at 5.75 per cent and 7.75 per cent respectively.

Norges Bank, the Central Bank of Norway, has decided to increase the interest rate on banks' deposits with Norges Bank, the deposit rate, by 0.25 percentage point with effect from Thursday, 13 April 2000. The interest rate on central bank overnight loans to banks will also be increased by 0.25 percentage point. The deposit rate will be 5.75 per cent and the overnight lending rate will be 7.75 per cent starting from 13 April.

Norges Bank's projections for price and cost inflation have been revised up for the years ahead. Consumer price inflation is estimated at 2¾ per cent in 2000 and 2 per cent in 2001. For 2002, the rate of increase in consumer prices is projected at 2¼ per cent. The estimate for this year has been adjusted upwards by ½ percentage point, primarily reflecting higher oil prices and expectations of higher imported inflation. For 2001, the estimate has been raised by ¼ percentage point, partly as a result of somewhat stronger pressures in the Norwegian economy than projected in the December Inflation Report.

Interest rates were left unchanged at Norges Bank's Executive Board meeting on 16 March. The interest rate on banks' sight deposits with Norges Bank and the overnight lending rate therefore remain at 5.5 per cent and 7.5 per cent respectively.

The return on the Government Petroleum Fund in 1999 was 12.4 per cent measured in international currency. Results were boosted by extremely strong growth in international equity markets, particularly towards the end of the year. The return on the equity portfolio was 34.8 per cent. There was a negative trend in most bond markets, and the return on the fixed income portfolio was -1 per cent.

Norges Bank has transferred NOK 10.7 billion to the Treasury from the Transfer Fund. This transfer to the Treasury is based on an average of the Bank's allocations to the Transfer Fund in the three preceding years.

Interest rates were left unchanged at Norges Bank's Executive Board meeting on 16 February. The interest rate on banks' sight deposits with Norges Bank and the overnight lending rate therefore remain at 5.5 per cent and 7.5 per cent respectively.

Address by Deputy Central Bank Governor Jarle Bergo Gausdal on 27 January 2000

Interest rates were left unchanged at Norges Bank's Executive Board meeting on 19 January. The interest rate on banks' sight deposits with Norges Bank and the overnight lending rate therefore remain at 5.5 per cent and 7.5 per cent respectively.

The reports received by Norges Bank on Monday 3 January from the main participants in the payment system confirm the absence of any significant problems during the first normal workday of the year in connection with the transition to the year 2000. The payment system is functioning normally, with regard to self-service systems, ordinary banking services, interbank transactions and payments for trading in securities.

The reports received by Norges Bank over the first weekend of the year 2000 from the main participants in the payment system confirm the absence of any significant problems in connection with the transition to the year 2000. The payment system is functioning normally, both with regard to point-of-sale terminals for purchasing goods and services, cash withdrawals from ATMs and telebanking services. A few ATMs failed to function but the problems were solved in the course of Saturday 1 January.