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156409
Trade surplus down
statistikk
2014-04-16T10:00:00.000Z
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, March 2014

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Trade surplus down

Exports of goods came to NOK 77.7 billion, while imports reached NOK 46.3 billion in March 2014. Thereby the trade surplus dropped 19.2 per cent compared to March 2013. There was a high export of fish and record high for electric cars.

External trade in goods1Published 16 April 2014
NOK MillionChange in per centNOK Million - so far this yearChange in per cent - so far this year
March 2014February 2014 - March 2014March 2013 - March 2014March 2014March 2013 - March 2014
1The figures are marked with the symbol *. This is Statistics Norways standard symbol for indicating preliminary figures.
2Due to the data collection method, the preliminary monthly figures published for ships and oil platforms are often incomplete. In retrospect, therefore, the trade in these goods could in some cases lead to major corrections in the figures. Please see tables 2-4 for the impact these figures have on the external trade.
Imports46 3257.320.5131 4948.2
Ships and oil platforms2901 400.0-83.5589-73.4
 
Exports77 7340.90.6245 0636.8
Crude oil23 9097.4-2.075 2938.3
Natural gas21 9604.62.467 7582.5
Natural gas condensates681-47.3-15.42 5591.4
Ships and oil platforms273-93.9-88.03 219120.3
Mainland exports31 110-0.53.696 2357.2
 
The trade balance31 409-7.2-19.2113 5705.4
The mainland trade balance-15 125-27.0-92.6-34 669-17.1

Source: Statistics Norway

The trade balance for March 2014 ended at NOK 31.1 billion. This was NOK 7.4 billion – or 7.2 per cent – lower than March last year. The reason for the drop was mainly due to higher imports. It is important to consider the fact that Easter was in March in 2013 and thereby influences the figures. The seasonally-adjusted figures show a much lower growth in imports. Corresponding figures for exports show minor adjustments.

Minor changes in exports of crude oil and natural gas

Norway exported crude oil amounting to NOK 23.9 billion in March 2014. Compared to last year, this was a small decline of NOK 489 million – or 2.0 per cent. The price of crude oil in the first three months of 2014 was higher than last year. In March 2014 it was NOK 652, which is about NOK 16 more than in March 2013. However, the number of barrels exported this March was down 1.7 million or 4.4 per cent from March 2013.

The exported value of natural gas came to NOK 22.0 billion in March 2014. This was up NOK 519 million, or 2.4 per cent from March 2013. The volume of gas in a gaseous state was up 9.8 billion cubic metres; a growth of 2.6 per cent compared to March 2014.

High exports of fish

The mainland exports ended at NOK 31.1 billion in March 2014. The rise was NOK 1.1 billion – 3.6 per cent up from March 2013. There were small changes in most of the main commodity groups, however fish pushed up the export figures and refined mineral products had the opposite effect.

Fish exports were up NOK 1.2 billion; a rise of 25.9 per cent compared to March 2013. The export of fresh salmon amounted to almost NOK 3 billion in March 2014, up about NOK 580 million compared to last year. The price was slightly more than NOK 6 higher.

The group of refined mineral products dropped by almost NOK 2.2 billion, or 40.3 per cent. However, the big drop is due to the fact that this export was high in March 2013. With regard to other important export products, such as iron and steel and non-ferrous metals, there were only minor changes. However, manufactures of metals were up 37.7 per cent - NOK 196 million.

Record high for electric car imports

The import value of goods came to NOK 46.3 billion in March 2014. The growth in unadjusted figures was NOK 7.9 billion, or 20.5 per cent compared to last year.

In March 2014, imports of machinery and transport equipment in particular were up. The growth compared to March last year was NOK 3.4 billion. There was a jump in the import of road vehicles, and passenger cars alone were up by NOK 1.2 billion ending at NOK 3.8 billion. This record is due to the import of electrical cars. The import value of these cars was almost NOK 1.1 billion in March 2014 – while in March the previous year it was only NOK 140 million.

Furthermore, the total import of industrial machinery was up NOK 1.1 billion from March 2013 to March 2014.