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Oil and gas export increased, fish declined
statistikk
2011-10-17T10:00:00.000Z
External economy
en
muh, External trade in goods, import, export, balance of trade (export minus import), mainland exports, imports excluding ships and oil platforms, trade ( between countries, continents and trade regions), international product groups (for example hs, sitc and bec), product groups (for example food, crude oil and metals)External trade , External economy
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External trade in goods, September 2011

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Oil and gas export increased, fish declined

Export values for September reached NOK 75.9 billion for export and NOK 41.7 billion for imports. The trade surplus was NOK 34.2 billion, up 55 per cent compared to September last year. The increase was almost exclusively due to higher export values for oil and natural gas.

Total exports increased by 20 per cent compared to September last year, driven by a value increase for oil and natural gas equivalent to NOK 10.3 billion. High prices for both of these products and large volume increases for gas were crucial factors explaining the growth. Total September imports were stable, only up 1.5 per cent from last year.

Continued high oil prices ensured increased value

The export values for oil in September totalled 26.6 billion, around 14.5 per cent more than the corresponding month last year. The increase was due to persistently high oil prices, as the number of barrels exported during the same time period fell by 14 percent. The total number of barrels for this year’s September was 41.5 million. The volume reduction compared to 2010 can be explained by maintenance work being performed on a couple of oil fields. However, countering this effect and leading to a rise in value, the price per barrel has increased from NOK 481 to NOK 641 from September 2010 to 2011. Also compared to the previous month, prices were up NOK 31 per barrel.

Natural gas up from last year, down compared to August

September exports of natural gas, both in gaseous state and liquefied, came to NOK 15.7 billion. This was 79 per cent higher than last year’s value, but a slight decrease compared to August. The volume of gas in gaseous state followed the same pattern - increasing 33 per cent from September 2010, yet down 5 per cent from August this year. However, volumes for 2010 were low due to planned maintenance work.

External trade in goods, excl. ships and oil platforms. NOK million
  January-September Change in per cent September Change in per cent
  2010 2011 2010 2011
1 Imports  328 222  362 122 10.3 41 123 41 741 1.5
2 Exports  568 834  651 526 14.5 63 144 75 888 20.2
Of which            
Crude oil  202 969  245 193 20.8 23 257 26 610 14.4
Natural gas  114 421  130 570 14.1 8 767 15 686 78.9
Condensates 5 057 6 356 25.7  712 1 125 58.0
3 Exports excl. crude oil, natural gas and condensates  246 387  269 407 9.3 30 408 32 467 6.8
4 Trade balance (2-1)  240 612  289 404 20.3 22 021 34 147 55.1
5 Trade balance excl. oil, natural gas and condensates (3-1) -81 835 -92 716 . -10 715 -9 274 .

General export growth, but sharp decline for fish exports

Exports, excluding ships, oil platforms, crude oil, natural gas and condensates, came to NOK 32.5 billion for the month of September, up almost 7 per cent compared to 2010.

Exports of refined petroleum products grew with NOK 1.8 billion, equivalent to 75 percent, compared to September 2010. Further, export values for liquefied propane and butanes increased, doubling to a total of NOK 2.1 billion. Organic chemicals also contributed to the value growth.

The effects of higher prices for precious metals like gold, silver and platinum appeared in the export figures for September. For example, the group non-monetary gold improved NOK 141 million against last year. Furthermore, silver and platinum were up NOK 66 million, totalling at 232 million, and constituting almost half of the value increase in the group non-ferrous metals.

The biggest decline this month was for the product group fish, where values came in around NOK 600 million lower than last September. It was particularly declines in the export values for salmon and mackerel that were decisive. Salmon prices fell dramatically by NOK 11 per kilo fresh whole salmon from September 2010 to NOK 26 in September 2011. Although the volume increased, this did not hinder the value reduction. The decrease in mackerel exports was mainly due to the extraordinarily large catches in 2010, and the earlier on-set of the fishing season that year. Prices have increased, which to some extent dampens the fall in value.

Stable import, increase for cars

We imported goods, excluding ships and oil platforms, amounting to NOK 41.7 billion in September. This was only 1.5 percent higher than the same month last year - constituting a marginal increase of around NOK 620 million.

The commodity group machinery and transport equipment, together with miscellaneous manufactured articles and manufactured goods accounted for three-quarters of the rise of imports. In particular, increased imports of passenger cars contributed. Values here were up 24 per cent compared to last September, coming to a total value of NOK 2.8 billion. However, no pronounced trend is visible, as car imports vary widely from month to month. Additionally, iron and steel as well as machines for special industries went up by around NOK 350 million each.

The greatest decline came in the group mineral fuels, where values were almost halved compared to last year, totalling around NOK 2 billion. Finally, values for inorganic chemicals and non-ferrous metals fell from September 2010.

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