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54148
High trade figures
statistikk
2011-04-15T10:00:00.000Z
External economy
en
muh, External trade in goods, import, export, balance of trade (export minus import), mainland exports, imports excluding ships and oil platforms, trade ( between countries, continents and trade regions), international product groups (for example hs, sitc and bec), product groups (for example food, crude oil and metals)External trade , External economy
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External trade in goods, March 2011

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High trade figures

In March, exported goods amounted to NOK 80.3 billion, while imported goods totalled about NOK 48 billion. The trade surplus increased by 8.1 per cent compared to March last year. The import of a frigate to the Norwegian Armed Forces reduced the increase significantly.

The export value of goods was 12.8 per cent higher than the same period last year, and it was the first time since October 2008 that it surpassed NOK 80 billion. An increase in both the oil price and the value of mainland exports contributed to this.

The import value in March ended 16.3 per cent higher than for the corresponding month last year. This increase is partly explained by the import of a frigate at just below NOK 4 billion. If the frigate is excluded, the increase would be 7.2 per cent, while the trade surplus would be 20.6 per cent higher than March last year. Even without the frigate we again have to go back to October 2008 to find a higher value for imports.

Continued increase in the oil price

The average price per barrel of crude oil was NOK 653 in March. This was up by NOK 177 from March last year and NOK 49 from last month.

The total value of the export of crude oil amounted to NOK 28.8 billion, which was an increase of 19.8 per cent compared to the same period last year. The price hike led to an increase in the value despite the amount of exported barrels falling by 6.4 million.

Increase in the value of natural gas exports

The value of natural gas exports ended at NOK 17 billion in March. This is up by 3.4 per cent from March last year.

A total of 9.4 billion cubic metres of natural gas in a gaseous state were exported in March this year. This is a small decline of 2.4 per cent compared to the same period last year.

External trade in goods, excl. ships and oil platforms. NOK million
  January-March Change in
per cent 		March Change in
per cent
  2010 2011 2010 2011
1 Imports  102 945  123 936 20.4 41 290 48 007 16.3
2 Exports  200 379  221 494 10.5 71 131 80 259 12.8
Of which            
Crude oil 69 372 81 822 17.9 24 025 28 784 19.8
Natural gas 47 880 49 179 2.7 16 417 16 980 3.4
Condensates 1 294 2 152 66.3  540 1 258  133.0
3 Exports excl. crude oil, natural gas and condensates 81 834 88 341 8.0 30 149 33 238 10.2
4 Trade balance (2-1) 97 434 97 558 0.1 29 841 32 252 8.1
5 Trade balance excl. oil, natural gas and condensates (3-1) -21 111 -35 595 . -11 141 -14 769 .

High import value

The value of imports excluding ships and oil platforms amounted to NOK 48 billion, which corresponds to an increase of 16.3 per cent from March last year.

The largest increase was in the group other transport equipment, which also includes the aforementioned frigate. This group, excluding the frigate, was NOK 2.9 billion higher than a year ago and ended at NOK 4.9 billion. Of the other groups, metalliferous ores and metal scrap increased by NOK 792 million, and amounted to a total of NOK 3.3 billion. The import value of electric current was NOK 1.1 billion; an increase of NOK 478 million. The group consisting of iron and steel was NOK 351 million higher than March last year.

Most groups show an increase, but some groups show a minor decline from March last year. The largest decrease was in the group manufactures of metals not elsewhere specified, which declined by NOK 282 million and came to NOK 1.7 billion.

Record value for mainland exports

The mainland export value came to NOK 33.2 billion. This is the highest recorded value ever for this aggregate.

The increase was reflected in the group of non-ferrous metals, which was NOK 880 million higher compared to March last year and totalled NOK 4.5 billion. The high value was mainly caused by a gain in the value of aluminium and nickel exports. Refined mineral products were NOK 1.1 billion higher than the corresponding month last year, and ended at NOK 4.7 billion. The exports of fish increased to NOK 4.9 billion, by about NOK 400 million compared to March last year, while the export value of liquefied propanes and butanes increased by NOK 681 million in the same period.

The main SITC group of machinery and transport equipment declined by NOK 1.2 billion compared to the same period last year. The downturn could be explained by the decline in machinery specialised for particular industries, which is down NOK 523 million, and the subgroup general industrial machinery, which was down NOK 729 million.

The figures in this press release for external trade are published without ships and oil platforms. In March a production vessel; Skarv FPSO, valued at only just NOK 9 billion, was imported. The implication is that the difference between the value of the total imports and the imports excluding ships and oil platforms will be significantly larger than normal.

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