External trade in goods, December 2012

The trade balance in December amounted to NOK 35.2 billion and was more than NOK 5 billion less than the same month a year back.

Lower exports of crude oil, but increased gas exports

Exports of crude oil totalled to NOK 22.7 billion; a fall of more than NOK 6.4 billion compared to December 2011. The decline is mainly due to a drop in export volumes - from 45.3 million barrels in December 2011 to 36.5 million barrels last December - but lower prices per barrel in December 2012 also had an impact.

Export of natural gas amounted to 10.5 billion cubic metres in December, compared to 9.7 billion in the same month in 2011. Exports of natural gas totalled around NOK 23 billion in December.

Decline in exports in all major commodity groups

Mainland exports amounted to NOK 26.6 billion in December - NOK 2.6 billion less than in the same month a year earlier.

All major commodity groups showed a decline in export value compared to December 2011. The biggest change in value was for machinery and transport equipment, which fell from NOK 6.2 billion in December 2011 to NOK 4.7 billion last December. This main group, which showed a relatively large increase last November, normally varies considerably between periods as it is affected by larger projects. In the main group manufactured goods, there was a decline for non-ferrous metals, which amounted to NOK 2.6 billion; a fall of 21 per cent compared to December the previous year. The value of aluminium exports was NOK 312 million lower in December 2012 than in the same month in 2011. The decrease was due to both a lower export volume and lower prices. There was a marked decrease in the export of paper and paper products due to the closure of several mills last year. The export of paper totalled to NOK 289 million in December; a decline of 46 per cent from the same period in 2011.

Despite an increase in export value for salmon in December, the total export of fish dropped by NOK 250 million compared to the same month in 2011. There was a particular fall in the export of clip fish, where the export value in December was NOK 159 million less than in the same month a year earlier.

Exports of refined petroleum products totalled NOK 4.5 billion in December; an increase of NOK 725 million compared to December 2011. This makes up for some of the decrease in exports for this commodity group last November.

Decline in imports, however a rise in imports of food and beverages

In December, imports of goods amounted to NOK 37.8 billion, which is 6.9 per cent lower compared to the same month a year earlier.

With the exception of the major commodity groups food and live animals and beverages and tobacco, imports declined in all the major groups. With regard to foodstuff, there was a particular rise in imports of beef, which increased by approximately NOK 38 million between the two periods, amounting to NOK 111 million in December 2012.

Imports of machinery and transport equipment were NOK 1.6 billion less than in December 2011 and for the sub-group road vehicles there was a drop in the number of passenger cars imported. In total, nearly 1 650 fewer passenger cars were imported, with a total value of NOK 240 million. There was also a larger decrease in imports of petroleum and petroleum products.

The main group metals, other than iron and steel declined from NOK 664 million to NOK 432 million and imports of clothing showed a drop of NOK 133 million in December 2012 compared to the same month a year earlier.

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