Norway Economic Update – "Partly Grim"

The Norwegian Bureau of Statistics (SSB) released Thursday their latest update on the nations economy. According to SSB, Norway‘s economic health stabilized in the last three months of 2009, and the development has changed from “negative” to “neutral“. But the bureau states in their “Business tendency survey” that the prospects for producers of capital goods are “grim”.

“Norwegian industrial managers report a mixed development within manufacturing. Some sectors experienced an increase in demand due to higher consumption, while others suffered the consequences of a lack of new orders for ships, boats and oil platforms.”

Statistics Norway

According to the business tendency survey, the Norwegian manufacturing industry experienced a further decline in output and employment in the fourth quarter of 2009. However, the fall was not as strong as recorded in previous surveys. Improved conditions for producers of intermediate goods and consumer goods was the reason for this development. However, the recovery has not been sufficient to increase the demand for labour within these sectors, SSB writes.

The highlights are as follows:

* Expectations of improved demand for intermediate goods

* Grim prospects for producers of capital goods

* Higher production of consumer goods

Here’s a summary of the survey in English.

The Norwegian economic obstacles:

The historic economic barometer:

Related articles by Zemanta

• Not So Rosy After All (econotwist.wordpress.com)
• Norway: Midnight sun, but forget the midnight buffet (thejc.com)
• Oil leak shuts down Norwegian drilling platform (seattletimes.nwsource.com)