External trade in goods, November 2012

The trade balance for November 2012 ended at NOK 31.9 billion. This is about NOK 5 billion, or 13.7 per cent, lower than November last year. The drop was mainly found within the lower oil exports - as the mainland exports and imports ended at the same level as last November. The all time high imports in October did not continue in November.

Lower exports of oil

Norway exported crude oil amounting to NOK 22.2 billion in November 2012. Compared to last year this was a decline of 4.6 billion, or 17.2 per cent. The reason was a combination of lower oil price and lower quantity. The price of NOK 631 was NOK 11 lower than last year. The number of barrels exported was down 6.6 million. One of the reasons for lower quantity was oil fields that has been closed for a period of time, and did not reopen until late November.

The exported value of natural gas came to almost the same level as November 2011 - 9.6 billion standard cubic metres gas in gaseous state, at a value of NOK 20.1 billion.

Seasonal rise for salmon

The mainland exports of NOK 31.9 billions also ended at the same level as November 2011. The decline was NOK 363 billion, only 1.1 per cent lower.

Fish exports were up NOK 433 million or 8.9 per cent. The export of fresh salmon was up a little more than NOK 400 million compared to last year. This was due to both higher price and higher quantity. However, this rise is a common seasonally variation for exports of salmon.

The group of refined mineral products dropped by almost NOK 1.3 billion or 27.4 per cent, but this is also within the variation level for the last couple of years. Exports of iron, steel and other metals were also down in November by NOK 249 million or 5.5 per cent. Exports of aluminium were down about NOK 105 million, due to a lower price.

The commodity group of machinery and transport equipment was up NOK 1.4 billion or 26 per cent. This group varies widely between periods because it is affected by different projects. Electrical machinery, apparatus and appliances contributed to half of the rise in November.

All time high for cell phones

The import value of goods excluding ships and oil platforms came to NOK 43.6 billion in November 2012. This was a small drop of NOK 340 million, or 0.8 per cent, compared to last year.

Imports of telecommunication equipment rose by NOK 295 million and ended at almost NOK 2.3 billion or up 14.9 per cent. Cell phones make up a big share of this commodity group. Phones for more than NOK 871 million arrived in Norway in November. This was an all time high and NOK 216 million more than in November 2011, which also was a month with high imports of cell phones. The quantity has been at this level before, but the huge part of smart phones pulls the value up.

Imports of industrial machinery generally tell more about the economic situation than the exports of these commodities. The growth in November 2012 was only NOK 336 million or 7.6 per cent. However, the import of some of the machinery and equipment is high due to the high level of activity in the oil and construction business the last two years.

Imports of cars went down by almost NOK 150 million or 5.1 per cent, though the level in November 2011 was also high. Imports of metalliferous ores, an important input in the metal-working industry was also down by NOK 354 million or 18.4 per cent. Still the level is within what it has been the last one and a half year.

Tables:

• Table 1 Imports of commodities, ships and oil platforms excluded. November and January-November 2011 and 2012. NOK million
• Table 2 Exports of commodities, ships and oil platforms excluded. November and January-November 2011 and 2012. Preliminary figures. NOK million
• Table 3 Trade with countries and regional groups of countries. January-November 2011 and 2012. Preliminary figures. NOK million