Continued low exports

In February Norway exported goods worth NOK 22.8 billion. The value of exports was NOK 2.1 billion lower than for February 1998, primarily because the export of crude oil only brought in NOK 6.0 billion, or NOK 1.6 billion less than in the same month last year.

Simultaneously, goods worth NOK 20.5 billion were imported in February this year, a decline of NOK 0.7 billion. Hence, the external trade with commodities gave a surplus of NOK 2.3 billion, excluding ships and oil platforms.

For the period from December through February the seasonally adjusted figures for traditional commodities show declines of 5.8 per cent for imports and 4.8 per cent for exports compared with the previous three-month period. From January to February, however, the seasonally adjusted figures show that imports increased by 6.0 per cent, while exports increased by 1.9 per cent.

Our main imports were telecommunications equipment, including mobile phones. We also increased our imports of industrial machines, electrical machines and appliances and various finished goods. The increase in finished goods also applied to military equipment.

The balance of goods

During the first two months of this year we exported goods excluding ships and oil platforms for NOK 45.8 billion, a decline of 14.2 per cent relative to the same period last year. Imports amounted to NOK 38.6 billion, a decline of 7.7 per cent. The surplus in the balance of trade in goods excluding ships and oil platforms decreased from NOK 11.5 to NOK 7.2 billion.

Traditional commodities

Exports of traditional commodities amounted to NOK 14.0 billion in February and NOK 27.8 billion in the first two months of the year. This amounts to declines of 6.7 and 9.1 per cent respectively compared with the same period last year.

New Statistics
External trade with commodities, February 1999.
The statistics are published monthly in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics and in the Monthly Bulletin of External Trade and are available on the Internet: http://www.ssb.no/. Detailed figures are also available at Customer Services, External Trade, tel. +47 21 09 47 52/53. For more information, contact: Anne.Berit.Dahle@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 47 10.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 11, 1999