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Reduced surplus
statistikk
2016-03-02T10:00:00.000Z
External economy;National accounts and business cycles;External economy
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ur, International accounts, current account balance, direct investments, operational and capital accounts, financial accounts, investment abroad, foreign investment, transactions, stocks, financial assets, liabilities, portofolio investment, financial investments, revaluations, current account balance, balance of income and current transfers, reinvested earnings, net assets, BOP geographical breakdown, balance of goods, balance of services, BOP, IIP, balance of payments, international investment positionBalance of payments, National accounts , Foreign assets and liabilities , National accounts and business cycles, External economy
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The statistics show the quarterly Norwegian current account balance.

International accounts, Q4 2015

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Reduced surplus

Surplus on Norway’s current account with the rest of the world is estimated at NOK 55 billion in the 4th quarter of 2015. In total for 2015, the current account surplus was NOK 283 billion, which is NOK 94 billion lower than 2014.

Balance of payments. NOK millionPublished 2 March 2016
4th quarter 20141st quarter 20152nd quarter 20153rd quarter 20154th quarter 2015
Current account balance107 17387 47278 02362 07954 977
Balance of goods and services80 35958 40343 49435 66243 232
Balance of income and current transfers26 81429 06934 52926 41711 745
Capital transfers to abroad, net187719122245
Net lending, current account106 98686 74177 90162 05554 972
 
Direct investment83 06840 18743 97137 98268 694
Portofolio investment-21 8194 715145 526116 63440 061
Other investments72 521-5 410-139 297-33 211-12 988
Reserve assets (IMF breakdown)-15 18517 995-5 526-24 023-34 050
Net lending, financial account118 58557 48744 67497 38261 717
 
Net errors and omissions-11 59929 25433 227-35 327-6 745

Source: Statistics Norway

Figure 1. The current account

Low prices on oil and gas

The balance of goods and services in the 4th quarter of 2015 was higher than the 3rd quarter, but in line with the 2nd quarter. In total for 2015, the balance of goods and services was estimated at NOK 181 billion, which is NOK 109 billion lower than 2014.

The main explanation for the low balance of goods and services is the low prices on oil and gas in this period. The low export values on oil and gas almost entirely explain the annual decrease in the balance of goods and services.

For more information about exports and imports, including price and volume considerations and seasonal adjustments, please see the quarterly national accounts.

Balance of income and current transfers still positive

The balance of income and current transfers ended at NOK 12 billion in the 4th quarter of 2015. Normally the balance of income and current transfers varies significantly from quarter to quarter. In total, the balance of income and current transfers was NOK 102 billion for 2015, which is NOK 15 billion higher than 2014.

Strong reduction of deposits to and from Norway

In the 4th quarter of 2015, total net sales of financial assets amounted to NOK 286 billion. A reduction in other financial investments almost completely dominated this development, with a decline of NOK 277 billion. Here deposit-taking corporations except the Central Bank reduced their deposits abroad by NOK 258 billion, mainly within intercompany relationships. On the liability side, total net sales were NOK 348 billion. Other financial investments were considerably reduced with NOK 264 billion. Also here there was a drop in deposits, partly driven by foreign central banks, with a reduction amounting to NOK 129 billion.

RevisionsOpen and readClose

Balance of goods and services are revised for the first three quarters in 2015 as a result of new information.

Balance of income and transfers has been revised significantly for all quarters in 2014 as well as the first three quarters of 2015. This is because of new information about reinvested earnings.

For the Financial Account Revisions have been made back to the 1st quarter of 2014, with updated figures for reinvested earnings included.