(30.12.2004)

Norges Bank will not purchase foreign exchange for the Government Petroleum Fund in January.

(17.12.2004) The latest issue of Norges Bank's quarterly publication Economic Bulletin, issue 4/2004, is now available on our website and will be sent by post to subscribers next week.

(17.12.2004) Summaries of reports from Norges Bank's regional network are now available.

(15.12.2004)

Norges Bank's Executive Board decided today to leave the interest rate unchanged. Norges Bank's key interest rate, the sight deposit rate, therefore remains at 1.75 per cent.

(08.12.2004)

On Monday 6 December the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) published the results of the part of the Triennial Central Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Market Activity that relates to outstanding OTC contracts. The results show strong growth in almost all segments of the global OTC derivatives market. Separate results will not be published for the Norwegian part of the survey, but the global results can be seen on the BIS's website. Turnover figures from the same survey were published on 28 September this year.

(07.12.2004)

Governor Svein Gjedrem addressed Statsøkonomisk forening in Oslo on 7 December 2004. The address is based on previous speeches and publications, including "Inflation targeting - some theory with main focus on practice", 8 June 2004, and "The Conduct of Monetary Policy", 28 September 2004.

(30.11.2004)

Norges Bank will not purchase foreign exchange for the Government Petroleum Fund in December.

(30.11.2004)

"The short-term outlook for financial stability is regarded as satisfactory and somewhat improved compared with the situation six months ago," said Governor Svein Gjedrem in connection with the presentation of Financial Stability 2/04 on Tuesday, 30 November.

(23.11.2004)

The return on the Government Petroleum Fund in the third quarter of 2004 was 1.4 per cent measured in terms of the currency basket that corresponds to the composition of the Fund's benchmark portfolio. The return on the fixed income portfolio was 3.1 per cent. The return on the equity portfolio was -1.0 per cent.

(23.11.2004)

Governor Svein Gjedrem addressed DnB NOR and Østlandsforskning in Biri on 23. November 2004. The address is based on Deputy Governor Jarle Bergo's speech of the same title, given in Bergen on 12 November.

(19.11.2004)

Governor Svein Gjedrem addressed SpareBank1 SR-Bank in Haugesund on 19 November 2004. The address is based on Mr Bergo's speech of the same title, given in Bergen on 12 November.

(12.11.2004) Deputy Governor Jarle Bergo addressed Vest-Norsk Sparebanklag's autumn conference in Bergen on 12 November 2004.

(12.11.2004)

Governor Svein Gjedrem addressed a meeting hosted by the Mid-Norway Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Region Central Norway, in Trondheim on 12 November 2004. The address is based on Bergo's speech of the same title, given in Bergen on 12 November.

(10.11.2004) Deputy Governor Jarle Bergo addressed Norges Bank’s regional network contacts for Region East in Oslo on 10 November 2004.

(04.11.2004) Summaries of reports from Norges Bank's regional network are now available.

(03.11.2004)

Norges Bank's Executive Board decided today to leave the interest rate unchanged. Norges Bank's key interest rate, the sight deposit rate, therefore remains at 1.75 per cent. The overnight lending rate also remains unchanged.
Webcast of press conference (in Norwegian)

(03.11.2004) The Inflation Report provides an overview of developments in the Norwegian economy and other factors that affect the inflation outlook. The Report also contains the Executive Board's assessments and monetary policy strategy for the next four months.

(29.10.2004)

In November, Norges Bank will purchase foreign exchange equivalent to NOK 640 million per day for the Government Petroleum Fund.

(25.10.2004)

Norges Bank has collected and systematized historical data of relevance to price stability and financial stability, the two main areas of responsibility for central banks. The historical data are documented in Norges Bank Occasional Papers No. 35 "Historical Monetary Statistics for Norway 1819-2003". Most of the data go back to 1819, while data on consumer prices cover the period back to1516. Data are available on the Internet in spreadsheet format.

(18.10.2004) Governor Svein Gjedrem addressed local business representatives in Verdal, on Monday 18 October 2004. The text is based on Jarle Bergo's speech of the same title, addressed to Sparebanken Sogn og Fjordane in Førde on the same date.

(18.10.2004) Deputy Governor Jarle Bergo gave a speech at a meeting hosted by Sparebanken Sogn og Fjordane in Førde, western Norway, on Monday, 18 October 2004.

(14.10.2004)

A delegation from the IMF is currently visiting Norwegian authorities and financial market participants to gather information about the Norwegian financial system. The visit is part of the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), which is designed to assess the stability of the financial system.

(12.10.2004)

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel, 2004 jointly to Finn E. Kydland (Norwegian citizen) and Edward C. Prescott (U.S. citizen). "This award is both important and welcome," says Mr. Svein Gjedrem, Governor of Norges Bank.

(07.10.2004) The latest issue of Norges Bank's quarterly publication Economic Bulletin, issue 3/2004, is now available on our website and will be sent by post to subscribers next week.

(05.10.2004)

Deputy Governor Jarle Bergo addressed the Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce in Washington on Monday, 4 October 2004. The address is based on the speech "Oil - economic policy challenges", given at the Southern Norway Conference in Kristiansand on 11 March 2003, and on the address "Monetary policy and the krone exchange rate", at ACI Norge on 26 August 2004.

(04.10.2004) The Nordic-Baltic representative on the IMF Executive Board has published his half-yearly report concerning key issues dealt with by the Board since April 2004. The report covers three issues: global economic developments, status of the IMF's major lending programmes and the most important policy discussions.

(30.09.2004) Address bt Governor Svein Gjedrem at the Argentum Conference, 30 September 2004

(30.09.2004)

In October, Norges Bank will purchase foreign exchange equivalent to NOK 430 million per day for the Government Petroleum Fund.

(28.09.2004)

The Governor of Norges Bank appeared before the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs of the Storting (Norwegian parliament) on 28 September at an open hearing on the conduct of monetary policy. Mr. Gjedrem's introductory statement is available on our website. Webcast of hearing (in Norwegian)

(22.09.2004)

Norges Bank keeps interest rates unchanged at 1.75 per cent Norges Bank's Executive Board decided today to leave interest rates unchanged. Norges Bank's key interest rate, the sight deposit rate, therefore remains at 1.75 per cent. The overnight lending rate also remains unchanged.
Webcast of press conference (in Norwegian)

(07.09.2004)

If you would like to be notified by email when new information is published on our website, a mailing list is now available.

(31.08.2004)

In September, Norges Bank will purchase foreign exchange equivalent to NOK 630 million per day for the Government Petroleum Fund. The increase in foreign exchange purchases compared with August is due to high oil prices.

(26.08.2004) Svein Gjedrem, Governor of Norges Bank, addressed ACI Norge - The Financial Markets Association in Oslo on Thursday 26 August. The address is based on assessments presented at Norges Bank’s press conference following the Executive Board’s monetary policy meeting on 11 August, Inflation Report 2/04 and on previous speeches.

(23.08.2004)

The return on the Government Petroleum Fund in the second quarter of 2004 was -0.2 per cent measured in terms of the currency basket that corresponds to the composition of the Fund's benchmark portfolio. The negative return on the fixed income portfolio was nearly offset by the positive return on the equity portfolio. The return on the fixed income portfolio was -1.6 per cent. There was an upturn in all three global equity markets, and the return on the equity portfolio was 1.9 per cent.
Webcast of press conference (in Norwegian)

(11.08.2004)

Norges Bank's Executive Board decided today to leave interest rates unchanged. Norges Bank's key interest rate, the sight deposit rate, therefore remains at 1.75 per cent. The overnight lending rate also remains unchanged.

(02.07.2004) Summaries of reports from Norges Bank's regional network are now available.

(01.07.2004) The Inflation Report provides an overview of developments in the Norwegian economy and other factors that affect the inflation outlook. The Report also contains the Executive Board's assessments and monetary policy strategy for the next four months.

(01.07.2004) Norges Bank's strategy documents form the basis for monetary policy decisions made by Norges Bank's Executive Board. Strategy Document 1/2004 concerns the conduct of monetary policy in the period 11 March to 30 June 2004.

(01.07.2004)

Interest rates were left unchanged at Norges Bank's Executive Board meeting today. Norges Bank's key interest rate, the sight deposit rate, therefore remains at 1.75 per cent. The overnight lending rate also remains unchanged.

(30.06.2004)

As from July, Norges Bank will resume daily purchases of foreign currency on behalf of the Government Petroleum Fund. The daily foreign currency purchases for July have been set at NOK 300 million. The background is that the rise in the oil price has increased the need for allocations to the Government Petroleum Fund.

(22.06.2004)

It has been ten years since the Norwegian banking crisis ended. Although many papers have been written about the crisis, it may be time to consider the crisis in retrospect. A comprehensive, but reasonably compact description in English of the Norwegian banking crisis is, however, lacking. With this publication Norges Bank tries to fill this gap.

(10.06.2004)

Both interest rates and inflation are currently low in Norway. Is this unusual? Studies of historical time series may provide an indication of what is normal. For many years, Norges Bank has cooperated with academic environments to construct long time series for monetary variables (inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, house prices, etc.) Most time series go back to the early 1800s, although inflation figures go back as far as 1516.

(08.06.2004) Governor Svein Gjedrem gave a speech hosted by the Centre for Monetary Economics/BI in Oslo on Tuesday 8 June 2004.

(07.06.2004) Governor Svein Gjedrem addressed Industrinettverket Sunnhordland at Stord on Monday, 7 June 2004.

(03.06.2004)

"The short-term outlook for financial stability is regarded as satisfactory and has improved somewhat compared with the situation six months ago," said Deputy Governor Jarle Bergo in connection with the presentation of Financial Stability 1/2004 on Thursday, 3 June.
Webcast of press conference (in Norwegian).

(28.05.2004) Summaries of reports from Norges Bank's regional network are now available.

(27.05.2004) The charts presented at the Executive Board's monetary policy meeting on 26 May are now available.

(26.05.2004)

Interest rates were left unchanged at Norges Bank's Executive Board meeting on 26 May 2004. Norges Bank's key interest rate, the sight deposit rate, therefore remains at 1.75 per cent. The overnight lending rate also remains unchanged. According to Norges Bank's assessment, with a sight deposit rate of 1.75 per cent at present, the probability that inflation two years ahead will be lower than 2½ per cent is greater than the probability that it will be higher.

(24.05.2004)

The return on the Government Petroleum Fund in the first quarter of 2004 was 2.9 per cent measured in terms of the currency basket that corresponds to the composition of the Fund's benchmark portfolio. There was an upswing in all three global equity markets, and the return on the equity portfolio was 3.8 per cent. The return on the fixed income portfolio was 2.2 per cent.
Webcast of press conference (in Norwegian)

(19.05.2004)

If you would like to be notified by email when new information is published on our website, a mailing list is now available.

(05.05.2004)

The increase in the use of electronic payment services and the decrease in the use of paper-based services continued in 2003, according to Norges Bank's Annual report on payment systems 2003, which was published in Norwegian on Wednesday, 5 May.

(04.05.2004) Governor Svein Gjedrem gave a speech at a meeting arranged by Kompetansering Sør and Agder Research in Kristiansand on Tuesday 4 May. The address was based on "Monetary policy and cyclical developments", a speech given by Mr Gjedrem at a meeting hosted by Sparebank 1 at the University Center in Svalbard on 22 April.

(03.05.2004) Governor Svein Gjedrem gave a speech at a meeting arranged by Centre of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ltd., Bodø and Nordlandsbanken in Bodø on Monday 3 May. The address was based on "Monetary policy and cyclical developments", a speech given by Mr Gjedrem at a meeting hosted by Sparebank 1 at the University Center in Svalbard on 22 April.

(29.04.2004) Governor Svein Gjedrem addressed the Federation of Norwegian Process Industries in Oslo on 29 April.

(23.04.2004) Executive Director Jon Solheim, who represents the Nordic and Baltic countries on the Executive Board of the IMF, has published his first report on central matters that have been dealt with by the Board since September 2003. The report covers three types of issue: global economic developments, the status of the IMF's major lending programmes and the most significant policy discussions.

(22.04.2004) The charts presented at the Executive Board's monetary policy meeting on 21 April are now available.

(22.04.2004) Governor Svein Gjedrem spoke at a meeting hosted by Sparebank 1 at the University Center in Svalbard on Thursday 22 April.

(22.04.2004)

"This year's report is yet another of a number of useful reports from Norges Bank Watch. We will carefully assess the advice," says Svein Gjedrem, Governor of Norges Bank.

(21.04.2004)

Interest rates were left unchanged at Norges Bank's Executive Board meeting on 21 April 2004. Norges Bank's key interest rate, the sight deposit rate, therefore remains at 1.75 per cent. The overnight lending rate also remains unchanged. According to Norges Bank's assessment, with a sight deposit rate of 1.75 per cent at present, the probability that inflation two years ahead will be lower than 2½ per cent is greater than the probability that it will be higher.

(19.04.2004)

A press release concerning the monetary policy decision reached at the meeting of Norges Bank's Executive Board will be released on the Bank's website at 2 pm on 21 April. The press release will provide an account of the background for the interest rate decision. A press conference regarding the monetary policy decision will be held at 2.45 pm the same day. The press conference will be webcast live on our website (in Norwegian).

(31.03.2004)

The IMF published its annual Country Report on the Norwegian economy and Norwegian economic policy on 31 March. A Public Information Notice containing the Executive Board's assessment was issued at the same time. The report and the notice are available on the IMF's website.

(30.03.2004) Governor Svein Gjedrem gave a speech at NHH Banking and Finance Society in Bergen on Tuesday 30 March. The address was based on "Flexible inflation targeting", a speech given by Mr Gjedrem at the Finance Student Group of the Norwegian School of Management in Sandvika on 29 March.

(29.03.2004) Governor Svein Gjedrem gave a speech at the Finance Student Group of the Norwegian School of Management in Sandvika on Monday 29 March.

(26.03.2004) The Governor of Norges Bank, Mr. Svein Gjedrem, gave two speeches on 26 March at Norges Bank's conference on monetary policy.

(23.03.2004)

On Friday 26 March, Norges Bank will hold a conference on monetary policy in connection with the publication of Norges Bank's Annual Report for 2003.

(19.03.2004) Mr Gjedrem spoke at a meeting hosted by the Vats Farmers' Union on 19 March 2004. His address was based on "Monetary policy and the economic outlook", a speech given by Mr Gjedrem at SR-banken, Stavanger, the same day.

(19.03.2004) Governor Svein Gjedrem gave a speech at SR-banken in Stavanger on Friday 19 March.

(18.03.2004) The Governor’s annual address to the diplomatic corps attracted about 80 guests to Norges Bank on Thursday 18 March. The event is organised in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In his speech, the Governor discussed the economic outlook in Norway. The address is based on the assessments presented at Norges Bank’s press conference following the Executive Board’s monetary policy meeting on 11 March and on previous speeches.

(15.03.2004) Summaries of reports from Norges Bank’s regional network are now available.

(12.03.2004) The charts presented at the Executive Board’s monetary policy meeting on 11 March are now available.

(11.03.2004) The Inflation Report contains a review of developments in the Norwegian economy and other factors that influence the inflation outlook. The report is published three times a year. Norges Bank’s Inflation Report 1/2004 is now available.

(11.03.2004) Norges Bank’s strategy documents form the basis for monetary policy decisions made by Norges Bank’s Executive Board. Strategy Document 3/2003 concerns the conduct of monetary policy in the period 28 October 2003 to 10 March 2004. The document was discussed at the Executive Board’s meeting on 8 October 2003 and was approved by the Executive Board at its meeting on 28 October 2003.

(11.03.2004)

Norges Bank's Executive Board decided today to reduce the interest rate on banks' deposits with Norges Bank, the sight deposit rate, by 0.25 percentage point to 1.75 per cent with effect from 12 March 2004. The interest rate on banks' overnight loans is being reduced correspondingly. According to Norges Bank's assessment, with a sight deposit rate of 1.75 per cent at present, the probability that inflation two years ahead will be lower than 2½ per cent is greater than the probability that it will be higher.

(11.03.2004)

(03.03.2004)

The return on the Government Petroleum Fund in 2003 was 12.6 per cent measured in international currency. This is the Fund's highest return ever. The upturn in international equity markets in 2003 resulted in a high return of 22.8 per cent on the equity portfolio. The return on the fixed income portfolio was 5.3 per cent. Webcast of press conference (in Norwegian)

(19.02.2004) Central Bank Governor Svein Gjedrem delivered his annual address to the members of the Supervisory Council of Norges Bank and specially invited guests on Thursday, 19 Feburary at 6 pm. An English translation of the address is available.

(19.02.2004)

Norges Bank's annual accounts for 2003 show a surplus of NOK 20.8 billion, compared with a deficit of NOK 24.1 billion in 2002. No transfer will be made to the Treasury from the Transfer Fund.

(29.01.2004) The charts presented at the Executive Board's monetary policy meeting on 28 January 2004 are now available.

(29.01.2004)

In the last few years, Norges Bank has upgraded the 200-krone and 100-krone banknotes to safeguard them against counterfeiting. The 50-krone note has now undergone the following changes.

(28.01.2004)

Norges Bank has sold 16 tonnes of gold bars in January and is planning to sell the remainder of the Central Bank's holdings of gold bars at a later time. Excluded from the sale are seven gold bars that have been used for exhibition purposes and a large number of gold coins that were transported to England when Norway was attacked in 1940. Norges Bank and the University of Oslo are discussing whether the gold coins can be put on public exhibition.

(28.01.2004)

Norges Bank's Executive Board decided today to reduce the interest rate on banks' deposits with Norges Bank, the sight deposit rate, by 0.25 percentage point to 2.00 per cent with effect from 29 January 2004. The interest rate on banks' overnight loans is being reduced correspondingly. According to Norges Bank's assessment, with a sight deposit rate of 2.00 per cent at present, the probability that inflation two years ahead will be lower than 2½ per cent is greater than the probability that it will be higher.

(23.01.2004) Mr. Jarle Bergo, Deputy Governor of Norges Bank, gave a speech on January 23 at a seminar arranged by the Association of Norwegian Economists in Gausdal. The address is based on the assessments presented at Norges Bank’s press conference following the Executive Board’s monetary policy meeting on 17 December 2003 and on previous speeches and publications.

(21.01.2004) Presentation by Mr. Jarle Bergo, Deputy Governor of Norges Bank, at the Global Electronic Payments Conference in London.