Norway Economy Extends Growth Streak, Cooling Rate Cut Bets

  • Norway has avoided recession and is forecast to grow this year
  • Central bank may wait until next year to start rate cuts

Norway’s economy grew for a fourth straight quarter at the start of the year, underpinning expectations for Norges Bank to postpone planned interest-rate cuts to next year.

Mainland gross domestic product, which excludes offshore energy industry and shipping, grew by 0.2% in the first quarter from the previous three months, according to a release from Statistics Norway published Thursday. That was in line with the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg while Norges Bank projected no change.