STOCKHOLM – Norway’s core inflation rate fell below expectation in March, Statistics Norway (SSB) data showed on Wednesday, supporting the central bank’s view that interest rates will decline later this year.
Core inflation, which strips out changing energy prices and taxes, stood at 4.5% year on year, down from 4.9% in February and below the 4.7% expected by analysts in a Reuters poll.
The central bank in March kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a 16-year high of 4.50%, and signalled it may cut rates in September.
Headline inflation, which includes changes in energy costs and taxes, meanwhile eased in March to 3.9%, while analysts in a Reuters poll had expected the year-on-year rate to fall to 4.2% from 4.5% in February.
Norway’s currency, the crown, weakened to 11.60 against the euro by 0609 GMT from 11.57 ahead of the data release. Against the dollar, the crown weakened to 10.69 from 10.66.
The central bank last month projected year-on-year core inflation for March of 4.7%.
The price of food rose by 6.1% over the 12 months since March, SSB data showed.
