External trade in goods, indices of volume and price, Q3 2005

Import prices of traditional goods decreased for the first time since the second quarter of 2003 compared to the same quarter the previous year. Higher prices of fuels, up 30.8 per cent, such as petroleum and petroleum products, did not compensate for the decrease. Prices are lower on meat and meat preparations, office machines and automatic data processing machines and telecom apparatus.

Prices of manufactured goods decreased as well, whereas articles of apparel and clothing accessories and footwear decreased by 4 and 5 per cent respectively.

Import prices of traditional goods increased by 0.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2005 compared to the second quarter of 2005. Prices of petroleum and petroleum products are higher, and so are prices of beverages and tobacco.

Higher imports of machinery

The import volume of traditional goods increased by 10.3 per cent from the third quarter of 2004 to the third quarter of 2005. Higher imports of crude materials such as metalliferous ores, as well as higher imports of machinery and transportation equipment compensated for the downward trend in fuels (such as electric current). Seasonally adjusted figures also showed an upward trend in import volume from the second quarter this year, up 5.1 per cent.

Higher export prices

Export prices of goods excluding ships and oil platforms are still increasing in the third quarter of 2005 compared to the same quarter last year. Prices increased by 22.2 per cent, and as in the two previous quarters in 2005 the increase is mainly due to higher prices on fuels. The increase is somewhat stronger, up 34.8 per cent. Prices of petroleum and petroleum products are higher, and so are prices of natural and manufactured gas, up 41 and 23 per cent respectively. The higher prices are also due to the international development in oil prices, with a record high level in August, in spite of the decrease in September due to the hurricanes that hit the USA and the Gulf of Mexico.

Export prices of traditional goods increased as well from the third quarter in 2004 to the third quarter of 2005, up 4.4 per cent. As in the two previous quarters of 2005 the Norwegian exchange rate has showed an upward trend compared to the same quarters last year, and that might have contributed to lower export prices in some groups. However, the export prices of fish increased by 15.7 per cent.

Higher exports of metals

As in the previous quarter the export volume of goods excluding ships and oil platforms showed a slight upward trend from the third quarter in 2004 to the third quarter of 2005, up 0.5 per cent.

The export volume of traditional goods increased by 7 per cent in the third quarter of 2005 compared to the same quarter last year. As in the previous quarter exports of metals and machinery increased and the increase compensated for the lower exports of fish and preparations thereof, down 2.2 per cent.