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Weekly Bulletin issue no. 30-31, 1998 <sti>Stikktittel

Balance of payments, May 1998:

NOK 0.9 billion deficit

Preliminary figures reveal a deficit in the current account of the balance of payments of NOK 0.9 billion in May of 1998. For April this year the figures showed a surplus of NOK 0.3 billion. The negative trend came primarily as a result of the reduced export of crude oil and natural gas and an increased deficit in the interest and transfers balance. The surplus for May last year was NOK 5.3 billion.
The surplus in the goods and services balance was NOK 0.5 billion in May 1998, which is NOK 0.4 billion lower than it was in April. The balance of goods showed a surplus of NOK 1.9 billion in May, while the balance of services showed a deficit of NOK 1.5 billion. In May 1997 the surplus in the goods and services balance was NOK 7.8 billion.

A deficit of NOK 1.4 billion is estimated for the interest and transfers balance in May this year, while the average deficit per month last year was NOK 1.6 billion. For April this year the deficit in the interest and transfers balance was NOK 0.6 billion.

Preliminary figures show that Norway's net foreign assets were reduced by NOK 2.8 billion in May 1998 and were estimated at NOK 83.8 billion at the close of the month.

The current account of the balance of payments includes both external trade with commodities and the export and import of services. In addition come income from capital and expenses in the form of interest and dividends, etc. plus current transfers and transfers to and from abroad.

New Statistics

Balance of payments, May 1998.
The statistics are published monthly in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics. For more information and e-mail, contact: elisabeth.norgaard@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 49 25, or bjornar.ansnes@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 48 35.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 30-31, 1998