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154730
Lower current account surplus
statistikk
2014-09-03T10:00:00.000Z
External economy;National accounts and business cycles;External economy
en
ur, International accounts, current account balance, direct investments, operational and capital accounts, financial accounts, investment abroad, foreign investment, transactions, stocks, financial assets, liabilities, portofolio investment, financial investments, revaluations, current account balance, balance of income and current transfers, reinvested earnings, net assets, BOP geographical breakdown, balance of goods, balance of services, BOP, IIP, balance of payments, international investment positionBalance of payments, National accounts , Foreign assets and liabilities , National accounts and business cycles, External economy
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The statistics show the quarterly Norwegian current account balance.

International accounts, Q2 2014

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Lower current account surplus

The surplus on Norway’s current account with the rest of the world ended at NOK 69 billion in the 2nd quarter of 2014. This was NOK 42 billion below the surplus of the previous quarter, mainly due to a drop in income from exports of oil and natural gas.

Balance of payments. NOK billionPublished 3 September 2014
20132nd quarter 20133rd quarter 20134th quarter 20131st quarter 20142nd quarter 2014
Balance of goods and services322.972.562.591.097.062.0
Balance of income and current transfers10.84.813.42.613.96.8
Current account balance333.677.376.093.6111.068.8
Capital transfers to abroad, net1.40.30.10.30.80.3
Net lending332.277.075.893.3110.268.5
Direct investment, net53.54.0-2.246.644.6-7.1
Portifolio investment, net293.0112.070.661.462.065.8
Other investment, net-102.9-12.0-29.5-6.74.550.9
Revaluations, net822.9133.6198.9195.9-19.7255.7
Increase in Norway's net assets1 155.1210.6274.7289.190.5324.2

Source: Statistics Norway

Figure 1. The current account

The trade in goods and services gave a surplus of NOK 62 billion, while the income and current transfers ended with a surplus of NOK 7 billion in the 2nd quarter of 2014.

Decrease in goods and services balance

The value of exports of goods was NOK 208 billion in the 2nd quarter of 2014, of which crude oil and natural gas amounted to NOK 123 billion. Compared to the 1st quarter, the exports of crude oil and natural gas were considerably lower due to a drop in volume. The exports of traditional goods were also slightly lower than the previous quarter. The value of imports of goods was NOK 139 billion, which was slightly higher than the 1st quarter.

Exports of services are estimated at NOK 73 billion for the 2nd quarter of 2014; almost NOK 10 billion more than in the 1st quarter. Imports of services ended at NOK 80 billion, which was also well above the level of the 1st quarter.

Surplus of income and transfers

There was a surplus in the income and transfers balance of NOK 7 billion in the 2nd quarter this year, down from NOK 14 billion in the 1st quarter. Compensation of employees and property income received from the rest of the world exceeded the corresponding payments to the rest of the world by NOK 15 billion. Net transfers to the rest of the world are estimated at NOK 8 billion.

Large movements in the banks’ transactions

Norwegian investments abroad amounted to NOK 85 billion in the second quarter of 2014. The banks’ liquidity management gave large movements in deposits and loans between the first and second quarter of 2014. The banks’ large reduction of loans (NOK 131 billion) and increase in deposits (NOK 108 billion) in the first quarter changed to a large increase in loans (NOK 130 billion) and a large decrease in deposits (NOK 132 billion) in the second quarter. Portfolio investment transactions increased by NOK 101 billion this quarter, while both direct investment and other investments (including banks’ loans and deposits) decreased. Direct investment was reduced by NOK 17 billion, mainly due to a decrease in company group loans. Other investment transactions abroad were reduced by NOK 5 billion in the second quarter. The increase in international reserves amounted to NOK 5 billion in the second quarter in contrast to NOK 25 billion in the first quarter.

Foreign investment transactions in Norway decreased by NOK 30 billion in the second quarter. Direct investment decreased by NOK 9 billion, while portfolio investment increased by NOK 35 billion. Other investment transactions in Norway decreased by NOK 55 billion, mainly due to large reductions in foreign loans (repurchase agreements) and other liabilities.

The net revaluations were NOK 256 billion in the second quarter of 2014.

RevisionsOpen and readClose

Due to new information the quarterly figures have been revised back to 2013 for the financial accounts. The current account balance has been revised for 2014.

Planned changes in 'balance of payments' and 'international investment position'Open and readClose

Statistics Norway is implementing new international guidelines for Balance of Payments (BoP) and International Investment Position (IIP). From December 2014 the sixth edition of the IMF’s manual, Balance of Payments and the International Investment Position manual (BPM6), are being implemented in Norway and in the rest of Europe. At the same time, Eurostat has amended the BoP regulation. Norway is obliged to follow these new guidelines according to the EEA Agreement.

The most important changes from December 2014 will be:

  • The international investment position statistics will be published quarterly, instead of annually. This is in addition to the quarterly Balance of Payments statistics on transactions
  • New sector standards in compliance with ESA 2010
  • Direct investment in the financial account to change accounting principle for company group loans
  • Income from direct investment to be separated from other income