Press

The central bank raised its key rate by 0.25 points to 0.75 percent and said a second hike was due again soon. "The executive board's current assessment of the outlook and balance of risks suggests that the key policy rate will most likely be increased further in the first quarter of 2019," central bank governor Oystein Olsen said in a statement. Thursday's hike had been widely expected. Norway's mainland gross domestic product -- excluding shipping and oil and gas -- grew by 0.6 percent in the first quarter and 0.5 percent in the second. Growth was expected to pick up further in future on rising oil investments. Norway's central bank said it expected a "gradual interest rate increase in the years ahead". - Menafn.com -