Norwegian trade surplus expands in December on rise in value of crude oil export

Norway’s trade surplus expanded in December, owing to higher crude oil price. The increased price of oil led to higher export value for crude oil, which resulted in a rise of trade surplus to NOK 23.3 billion from NOK 15.1 billion. This is the largest monthly surplus in 2016. The total value of goods export reached NOK 72.5 billion, whereas the import value came in at NOK 49.2 billion.

The trade surplus recorded in December was up 47 percent year-on-year. Imports, when compared with December 2015, grew 3.5 percent, whereas exports of goods rose 8.5 percent. The mainland exports, for the same period dropped 6.3 percent to NOK 32.3 billion.

The value of crude oil export reached NOK 20.4 billion in December, up NOK 8.4 billion from December 2015 and the highest since October 2014. This was mainly due to rise in crude oil prices. The prices rose 43.3 percent to NOK 453 per barrel in December 2016 from NOK 315 per barrel in December 2015.