The money supply M2, January 2008

At end-January more than half (NOK 740 billion) of the broad monetary aggregate was owned by households. For the first time since the beginning of 2005, households were the main contributor behind the annual growth in money supply, accounting for about 36 per cent of this growth. At the same time, there was an even stronger growth in household gross debt (11.2 per cent), as shown by the credit indicator C2 . For more information on the financial position of households, see the financial accounts in the national accounts .

Reduced growth in money supply

The twelve-month growth in money supply fell to 15.9 per cent to end-January, down from 17.1 per cent to the previous month. Money supply amounted to NOK 1 439 billion at end-January.

Slowdown in non-financial enterprise money supply growth

Non-financial enterprise money supply amounted to NOK 509 billion at end-January. The twelve-month growth was 15.5 per cent, down from 21.3 per cent to the previous month. The strong growth may be related to the rise in production and profitability in business and industry. As described by the credit indicator C2 , the growth in enterprise gross debt was also high (21.1 per cent).

Composition of money supply

The broad monetary aggregate M2 amounted to NOK 1 439 billion at end-January, of which the major part (89 per cent) consisted of bank deposits. In comparison, notes and coins only accounted for 3 per cent of the broad money. The rest of the broad money mainly consisted of shares in money market funds (7 per cent), while certificates of deposits accounted for 1 per cent.

Revisions

Seasonally adjusted stock data have been revised as a result of the calculation of new seasonal components to remain fixed to the end of 2008, see About the statistics , chapter 3.6.