Economic Survey 4-2000

The Norwegian economy exhibited a sluggish trend in the third quarter. Seasonally adjusted figures from the quarterly national accounts (QNA) show a levelling off in mainland production and demand following close to trend growth through the previous year. The number of persons employed has risen moderately through 2000, and in the third quarter it was a good half a percentage point higher than the average for 1999. Unemployment has also edged up from the trough recorded around the beginning of 1999. The consumer price index increased by 3.5 per cent in the year to the third quarter of 2000, while the year-onyear rate of price inflation was reduced to 3.1 per cent in October. The surplus on the current account reached as much as NOK 52 billion in the third quarter, primarily as a result of a further surge in oil prices.