External trade in goods, February 2000

Taking the leap year into account, the increase in traditional exports for February according to seasonally adjusted figures is 15 per cent more than in February 1999. The value of external trade in traditional goods showed an increase in traditional exports of 1 per cent for the period from December to February compared with the previous three-month period, whereas imports increased by 3 per cent, seasonally adjusted.

The accumulated trade surplus for January and February was 33.7 billion kroner, compared with 6.2 billion during the same period last year.

The Norwegian exports of crude oil tripled to 18.2 billion kroner in February, compared with 6.0 billion in the same month a year ago. The export volume of crude oil in February 2000 averaged 2 744 000 barrels per day, almost the same level as in February 1999. The estimated, average export price for February 2000 was 229 kroner per barrel.

Whereas the total exports of traditional goods in the first two months of 2000 show an increase of 19.1 per cent, the exports to the USA have increased by 32 per cent. Since 1999, the USA is the fourth largest recipient of Norwegian traditional goods. In the Norwegian imports by country of origin, the USA is number five, with Norway receiving US goods in the amount of 3 billion kroner, an increase of 11 per cent compared with the months of January and February last year.

The figures are exclusive of ships and mobile oil platforms, the same as traditional goods on the import side. For exports, traditional goods are also exclusive of crude oil and natural gas.