Norway: Inflation ticks down in March
Consumer prices rose 0.2% in March compared to the previous month, down from the 0.8% increase in February. This latest increase was due to higher prices for clothing and footwear; however, lower prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages, and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels weighed on the overall price gains.
Inflation ticked down to 2.9% in March from 3.0% in February, although it remained above Norges Bank’s 2.0% target rate. Meanwhile, annual average inflation remained unchanged at 3.0%.
Core consumer prices—which are adjusted for tax changes and exclude energy prices—rose 0.3% in March compared to the previous month, down from 1.2% in February. Core inflation accelerated to 2.7% from 2.6%, which was above market analysts’ expectations of 2.5%.