High export volume in 1st quarter

The volume of traditional Norwegian merchandise exports was 10.2 per cent higher in the first quarter of this year compared to first quarter 1995. Export volumes increased in a number of sectors including oil, gas, metals and fish. Export prices for crude oil and natural gas were high, while prices for other Norwegian export goods were on average 4.3 per cent lower than in first quarter 1995. The value of traditional exports was thus five per cent higher compared to this period last year.

International revision of tariff commodity codes

From 1995 to 1996 many of the commodity codes used in the tariff schedule etc., have been changed as a result of the revision of The Harmonized System (HS), the international standard for commodity classifications. Since these codes are also used to calculate price changes for various goods that are imported and exported, we have had problems in compiling indices for the individual commodity groups in 1996. Statistics Norway has put considerable work into making links between the new 1996 commodity codes and the old 1995 commodity codes in order to calculate new indices. The indices for the first quarter of 1996 are somewhat delayed in comparison to previous years, and the quality of the index figures for certain commodity groups may be slightly diminished.

New statistics

External trade in goods, April 1996.
Statistics are published every month in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics and Monthly Bulletin of Statistics. Monthly figures on external trade including April are now available from Customer Services, external trade, tel. +47 21 09 47 53. More information: Lars A. Lunde, tel. +47 21 09 47 08, e-mail: lal@ssb.no.

Weekly Bulletin issue 24, 1996