Increase in imports and traditional exports

Norway ran a trade surplus of NOK 29.5 billion for January to September, with exports totalling NOK 224.8 billion and imports NOK 195.3 billion.

Imports rose 14.2 per cent. Exports of traditional goods climbed to NOK 132.2 billion, up from NOK 124.1 billion at the same time last year. The export value of oil and gas remains low at NOK 92.6 billion, compared to NOK 121.8 billion for the first nine months of last year.

September's trade surplus of NOK 2.0 billion was considerably better than in August this year, but is under the NOK 2.5 billion average for the nine months that have elapsed so far. The average monthly surplus for 1997 was NOK 8.0 billion, up from NOK 7.6 billion in 1996.

Oil price up

September exports of crude oil and natural gas totalling NOK 9.9 billion are NOK 0.4 billion less than the average for the months so far this year and are significantly under 1997, when Norway exported an average of NOK 13.7 billion per month. The price of crude rose to NOK 99 per barrel in September. This is the best price since May this year, but is well below last year's monthly average price of NOK 132 per barrel.

Oil products lower surplus

Traditional exports of commodities include Norwegian refinery products, the raw materials of which are mainly Norwegian crude oil. When the price of crude oil dips, petroleum products normally have to be sold at a cheaper price too. Consequently, oil products can significantly lower the trade surplus. Compared to the same period in 1997, the export value of petroleum products fell NOK 2,951 million to NOK 8,230 million from January to September this year. The value of the natural gas products liquid propane and butane plunged NOK 1,679 million to NOK 1,825 million, a decrease of 47.9 per cent from the same nine-month period last year.

In the midst of this, traditional exports rose NOK 8,153 million in the first nine months of this year, an increase of 6.6 per cent from the same period last year. Machinery for special industries pushed the surplus up by NOK 1,124 million, while metals with the exception of iron and steel increased the surplus by NOK 1,885 million. Fish is taking on increasing importance. Exports of fish products during the period in question increased by NOK 2,435 million to a total of NOK 18,462 million.

New Statistics
External trade with commodities, September 1998.
The statistics are published monthly in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics and Monthly Bulletin of External Trade, both of which are available on the Internet at http://www.ssb.no. Detailed figures are available from Customer Services, External Trade, on +21 09 47 52/53. For more information, contact: Hans.Kristian.Ostereng@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 47 13.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 43, 1998