Norwegian economy is doing well, and unemployment falls. Inflation is low, but it will eventually pick up. We set interest rates in May, keeping it unchanged at this meeting, says Deputy Governor Jan F. Qvigstad.
Qvigstad also suggested that government debt crisis in Greece and other European countries has led to new turmoil in financial markets. Therefore, stock prices fell and long-term rates remain very low. But growth in the global economy still seems to hold up. Norges Bank assumes the debt crisis in Greece will be handled in a way that will not lead to significant consequences for other countries.
The Executive Board also decided the key policy rate should lie in the interval 2 ¼ -3 ¼ percent in the period to the next Monetary Policy Report on 19 October, unless the Norwegian economy is exposed to new major shocks.
