Balance of payments

The current account surplus versus abroad ended at 243 billion NOK in Q2 2024. Norway's net foreign assets amounted to NOK 17 609 billion.

The current account surplus versus abroad ended at 249 billion NOK in 2024. NOK 56 billion weaker than Q1 in 2023. The trade balance showed a surplus of NOK 163 billion. Norway's net foreign assets amounted to NOK 17 382 billion at the end of Q1 2024.

The current account surplus versus abroad ended at 909 billion NOK in 2023. Norway's net foreign assets amounted to NOK 15 284 billion by the end of 2023

Norway's current account surplus vis-a-vis abroad ended at NOK 193 billion in the third quarter of 2023, the drop of NOK 427 billion lower since the third quarter of last year is substantial.

Norway's current account surplus vis-a-vis abroad ended at NOK 171 billion in the second quarter of 2023, the drop of NOK 171 billion lower since the second quarter of last year thus halving the surplus. Lower export income from crude oil and natural gas is the most important reason for the fall.

Norway's current account surplus vis-a-vis other countries ended at NOK 279 billion in the first quarter of 2023, NOK 112 billion lower compared to the same period last year. This reduction is mainly due to reduced export income from crude oil and natural gas. Net foreign assets were record high in the 1st quarter of 2023. The weakening of NOK and the rise in global stock markets explains why net foreign assets towards foreign countries increased sharply.

Norway's current account surplus vis-a-vis trading partners reached a level in 2022 never previously observed. The surplus ended at NOK 1,691 billion, an increase of NOK 1,117 billion. This is close to a tripling of the current account surplus. Petroleum exports is the overriding reason behind the surplus. In addition, Norway's net claims on other countries are approximately back at the level at the end of 2021 after a steady decline through 2022, primarily caused by increased investments abroad.

Norway’s current account balance skyrocketed during the third quarter of 2022. The current account balance showed a surplus of NOK 570 billion, an increase of NOK 248 billion compared to the previous quarter. Higher export revenues from crude oil and natural gas is the overriding reason for the large surplus. Particularly, the price of natural gas has been historically high. Additionally, petroleum export values were revised up for the previous two quarters. Norway’s net assets increased by 7 per cent during the third quarter in 2022. Record high net lending and a weaker Norwegian krone explains the increase.

Norway’s current account balance posted a surplus of NOK 341 billion in the first quarter of 2022. Export revenues were primarily driven by higher prices for oil and natural gas.

Norway’s current account balance posted a surplus of NOK 659 billion in 2021. In the fourth quarter alone, the surplus reached NOK 275 billion. This is the highest level of the current account balance ever measured. Norway’s net International investment position increased by almost NOK 2000 billion during the year 2021, resulting in net foreign assets of NOK 11 718 billion

In the third quarter of 2021, the Norwegian current account balance ended at NOK 158 billion, which is the highest level of the current account balance measured. This was mainly thanks to a large rise in the price of natural gas. The surplus on the goods and service balance was almost NOK 130 billion, while there was a surplus of NOK 28 billion on the balance of income and current transfers in the third quarter of 2021.

In the second quarter of 2021, the Norwegian trade balance of goods and services ended at NOK 60 billion. This was mainly due to a large rise in the prices of crude oil and natural gas. There was a surplus of NOK 33 billion on the balance of income and current transfers in the second quarter of 2021. Net dividends from abroad were record high.

In the first quarter of 2021, the Norwegian trade balance of goods and services ended at NOK 73 billion. This was mainly due to a large rise in the prices of crude oil and natural gas. There was also a surplus of NOK 21 billion on the balance of income and current transfers in first quarter of 2021. Dividends payed on direct investments in Norway were small at the same time as we received high dividends from abroad, especially through the Government Pension Fund Global.