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Continued increase in import prices
statistikk
2013-10-15T10:00:00.000Z
External economy;External economy
en
uhvp, External trade in goods, indices of volume and price, import, export, price trends, volume development, product groups (for example food, raw materials, fuel), areas of application (for example energy goods, building materials, consumables)Balance of payments, External trade , External economy
false

External trade in goods, indices of volume and price, Q3 2013

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Continued increase in import prices

Prices of Norwegian imports rose by 1.3 per cent from the second to the third quarter. Compared with the third quarter of 2012, import prices are 2.2 per cent higher. Export prices also increased, due to higher prices of oil and chemical products.

Indices of volume and price for external trade in goods, excl. ships and oil platforms. Change in per cent from previous quarter.1Published 15 October 2013
Volume indexPrice index
ExportsImportsExportsImports
1Groups according to the Standard International Trade Classification (SITC-Rev. 4).
3rd quarter 2013 / 2nd quarter 2013
Goods excl. ships and oil platforms-3.7-0.74.11.3
Exports excl. crude oil and natural gas-4.7.2.4.
Food, beverages and tobacco6.92.5-0.11.7
Crude materials except fuels5.70.70.5-1.5
Fuels-3.4-0.65.94.8
Manufactured goods except food, beverages and tobacco-7.1-1.20.31.2

Source: Statistics Norway

The volume and price indices for external trade in goods show that import prices increased by 1.3 per cent from the second to the third quarter. Prices rose for most types of goods. One exception was inedible crude materials, where prices fell by 2.5 per cent.

Currency depreciation

One of the reasons for the growth in import prices was the depreciation of the Norwegian krone (NOK) against other currencies. The import-weighted currency index calculated by Norway’s Central Bank was 2.9 per cent higher in the third quarter than in the previous quarter. Even if prices were unchanged in foreign currencies, this depreciation would make imports more expensive, measured in NOK.

Compared with the third quarter of 2012, import prices have increased by 2.2 per cent. Prices of imported food products were 7 per cent higher than in the same quarter last year.

Lower import volume

The volume index for imports indicates that the volume of Norwegian imports was 0.7 per cent lower than in the second quarter. Imports for most kinds of goods fell, but Norway imported more food and miscellaneous manufactured articles. The latter group includes clothing and footwear, of which imports usually increase from the second to the third quarter. This year the increase was more than 60 per cent.

Compared with the third quarter of 2012, the overall import volume was 2.5 per cent higher in the third quarter this year. Among the few groups of goods with a fall in imports were crude materials and chemical products.

Higher export prices

Prices of Norwegian exports increased by 4.1 per cent from the second to the third quarter. An increase of 10.5 per cent in prices of petroleum products played a large part in the overall increase. Excluding oil and natural gas, export prices grew by 2.5 per cent.

Export prices were 4.2 per cent higher than in the third quarter of last year. Prices of fish have increased by more than 26 per cent over the past four quarters, due to a jump in prices from the first to the second quarter of 2013.

Lower export volume

The volume of Norwegian exports was 3.7 per cent lower in the third quarter than in the second. Apart from a decrease in the exports of natural gas, chemical products and metals were among the most significant in the exports’ decline.

Relative to exports in the third quarter of 2012, the volume was 1 per cent lower in the third quarter this year. Exports of oil and petroleum products were virtually unchanged, while shipments of natural gas from Norway were 1.1 per cent lower. Although there has been a steady increase in exports of fish over the past years, albeit with seasonal variations, exports in the third quarter were 0.7 per cent lower than one year before.