The upward trend for the Norwegian economy is flattening out, but still pointing upwards

GDP for mainland Norway rose by 0.6% in August but is still 3.9% lower than before the corona outbreak.

The monthly figures for mainland GDP were presented by Statistics Norway (SSB) on Thursday morning. 

The seasonally adjusted figures show that the Norwegian economy gained 0.6% in August. 

That reflects increased economic activity after the corona outbreak in March when the whole of Norway shut down. 

The industrial and business services sectors contributed most to the increase, but August’s level was still more than 30% lower than in February.

But despite the increase, total economic activity is 3.9% lower than in February. 

The summer period

The overview also shows that growth in July and August flattens out after there was only strong growth in May and June after the closure of the country was lifted.

“The summer months are characterized by holidays, and this affects figures for both July and August. They should therefore be interpreted with caution. 

“If we look at the two months as a whole, we still get a clear picture that the resurgence is slowing down,” Section Manager for the National Accounts Pål Sletten said.

The accommodation and service industry experienced a decline in August, while the goods trade, which includes retail, wholesale, and car dealers, was roughly unchanged in August.

While households had unusually high consumption in June and July, this fell somewhat in August, but the level is still higher than at the same time last year. 

Consumption of goods itself was 5.2% higher in August than in February.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today