External trade in goods, indices of volume and price, Q3 2009

A fall in prices of manufactured goods and machinery was the main cause of the 0.4 per cent reduction from the second to the third quarter in the Norwegian import price index. Compared with the third quarter of 2008 import prices have fallen by 1.6 per cent overall. Prices of metals, crude materials and fuels have decreased since last year, while prices of machinery and transport equipment are somewhat higher than they were one year ago.

The total volume of Norwegian imports was almost equal in the second and the third quarter, but adjusted for normal seasonal variations there was an increase of 3.2 per cent. Imports of crude materials, except fuels, grew by 11.5 per cent, not adjusted for seasonality. Compared with the third quarter of 2008 the import of computer equipment, road vehicles and industrial machinery has fallen, contributing to a 22.8 per cent drop in the imports of machinery and transport equipment.

Higher export prices

Prices of Norwegian exports increased by 1.3 per cent from the second to the third quarter. The oil price increased, while the price of natural gas fell. For traditional goods, a category which excludes oil and natural gas, prices were 1.7 per cent higher than in the previous quarter. Compared with the third quarter of 2008, however, Norwegian export prices are significantly lower. This is due to reduced prices of oil, natural gas, crude materials and metals. Prices of fish, machinery and transport equipment, on the other hand, have increased since one year ago.

The volume of Norwegian merchandise exports grew by 4.4 per cent from the second to the third quarter. The export of most groups of goods increased. Still, exports are lower than one year ago. The decrease in exports of traditional goods since the third quarter of 2008 is 6.1 per cent. This rate is not as low as the two first quarters this year, however, when the yearly decreases in exports were 9.7 and 15.4 per cent. Natural gas and fish are two of a few goods which have seen export volumes increase over the past year.