External trade in goods, indices of volume and price, Q1 2014

Prices of Norwegian imports of goods rose for the fourth consecutive month. Prices on exports decreased due to a reduction in gas and electricity prices. The price index for exported goods in the last quarter of 2013 has been revised up since its initial release, due to a revision of gas, electrical machines and metalliferous ores and metal scrap.

Continued rise in import prices

Prices of Norwegian imports of goods rose by 1.4 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014. Compared with the same quarter last year, import prices increased by 6.5 per cent. This can be explained by a weaker NOK compared to foreign currencies, of nearly 9 per cent during this period.

Prices within machinery and transport equipment rose by 2.9 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014. Prices within this product group had an upward trend during 2013. Compared to the first quarter last year, prices of machinery and transport equipment rose by 7.1 per cent.

Other product groups with rising import prices were manufactured goods, chemicals and food, where prices increased by 0.5, 2.1 and 3.1 per cent respectively.

A reduction in prices of electricity of 15.4 per cent contributed to dampen the total increase in import prices from the fourth quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014.

Lower imports of goods

The volume of Norwegian imports was 5.3 per cent lower in the first quarter of 2014 than in the last quarter of 2013. The import volume of machinery and transport equipment as well as mineral fuels, lubricants and related material, fell by approximately 10 per cent during this period. Within the latter group, the volume fell mainly due to lower prices of petroleum and petroleum products.

The product group with higher import volumes in the last quarter was miscellaneous manufactured articles. In this product group, the imported volume of footwear increased by 90 per cent. This followed a 50 per cent reduction in the volume of footwear in the quarter before. A higher import volume of different kinds of metals contributed to a rise in the volume of manufactured goods.

Lower export prices

Compared to the fourth quarter of 2013, prices of exported goods fell by 2.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2014. Lower gas and electricity prices had the strongest influence. The export price of electricity fell by 14 per cent during this period, and the prices were 18.6 per cent lower compared to the same month the year before. Prices within machinery and transport equipment fell by 1.1 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014.

Higher export prices of food dampened the total reduction in export prices. Within this group, prices increased by 8.2 per cent, mainly due to higher prices of fish.

Higher export volumes

From the fourth quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014, the export volume increased by 3.4 per cent. The largest contribution came from a 20 per cent rise in the export volume of electricity. Compared to the same quarter last year, the export volume of electricity rose by nearly 30 per cent.

From the fourth quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014, the export volume of food decreased by 20 per cent. The export volume of fish fell by nearly the same percentage. Other product groups with a reduction in the exported volume were crude materials, inedible, except fuels and miscellaneous manufactured articles.