The surplus in the goods and services balance in the first half of the year totalled NOK 46.6 billion, up all of 50 per cent from the same period the year before. Oil and gas exports were a major contributor to the upswing, although exports of certain traditional commodities have also risen sharply.
Norway's current account surplus for the first half of 1996 will total NOK 34.3 billion, preliminary figures show. This is more than double the size of the surplus during the same period in 1995 and is higher than any previous annual result. One of the main reasons for the record surplus is the strong improvement in the goods and services balance.