The credit indicator C3, March 2014

Total gross debt amounted to NOK 5 625 billion at end-March, up from NOK 5 609 billion at end-February.

Mainland Norway’s gross debt accounted for 87 per cent of the total gross debt at end-March. This amounted to NOK 4 879 billion, up from NOK 4 857 billion at end-February.

Stronger foreign debt growth

The general public gross foreign debt, which mainly relates to non-financial corporations, amounted to NOK 1 206 billion at end-March, marginally down from NOK 1 207 billion the previous month. The twelve-month growth increased from 1.5 per cent to end-February to 6.1 per cent to end-March.

Mainland Norway accounted for 53 per cent of the public gross foreign debt, which amounted to NOK 636 billion at end-March. The twelve-month growth in mainland Norway’s foreign debt was 1.0 per cent to end-March, up from -1.1 per cent to end-February. The increase in mainland Norway’s foreign debt stemmed from long-term debt.

Offshore industries accounted for the remainder of the foreign debt, which amounted to NOK 569 billion at end-March. The twelve-month growth was 12.4 per cent to end-March, up from 4.4 per cent to end-February. The increase in the twelve-month growth rate for the offshore industries stemmed from short-term debt.

Weaker domestic debt growth in March

The credit indicator (C2) amounted to NOK 4 419 billion at end-March. The twelve-month growth was 5.7 per cent to end-March, moderately down from 5.8 per cent the month before. The debt growth in non-financial corporations was 3.2 per cent to end-March, while the growth in household debt was 6.9 per cent in the same period. The C2 statistics show that the twelve-month growth in the general public domestic debt fell to 5.6 per cent to end-April.