Why is inflation so low?

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Statistics Norway's consumer price index increased by 0.5 percent from February to March, yielding an inflation rate from March 1995 to March 1996 of only 0.7 percent. The low inflation rate of the past 12 months is largely attributable to changes in indirect taxes and lower electricity rates.

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Consumer price inflation has been extremely low so far this year. The average inflation rate from First Quarter 1995 to FQ 1996 was 0.9 percent, 0.3 percentage points lower than FQ 1994, the year with the lowest inflation rate since the early '60s.

Lower indirect taxes

The low increase in prices so far in 1996 is largely attributable to changes in indirect taxes and lower rates for electricity. The adjustments made to vehicle excise duties alone caused the 12-month rate, measured by the price change from the same month last year, to drop 0.3 percentage points from December to January.

New Statistics

Consumer price index at 15 March 1996.
Statistics are published every month in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics. More information: Morten Sundell, tel. +47 21 09 47 30, Berit Koht, tel. +47 21 09 44 58 and Lasse Sandberg, tel. +47 21 09 47 16.

Weekly Bulletin ed. 16, 1996