By CentralBankNews.info
Norway’s central bank held its policy rate steady at 1.5 percent and said growth prospects had weakened recently which implies “that the key policy rate should be held at the current level in the period to summer 2015 and be increased gradually thereafter.”
“The increase in the key policy rate is now forecast to occur one year later than projected in September,” Norges Bank Deputy Governor Jan Qvigstad said in a statement.
In September the central bank forecast that rates would be maintained at the current level until the summer of 2014 and then gradually raised. But last month the bank dropped this guidance, saying any rise in interest rates among key trading partners had been pushed further in the future.
Norges Bank, which last cut its rate in March 2012, said inflation had been lower than expected in the past two months, growth will be lower than forecast, house prices had declined and wage growth may be somewhat lower than projected.
On the other hand, the Norwegian krone currency had depreciated considerably.
“On balance, there are prospects that consumer price inflation will be somewhat lower than previously projected,” Qvigstad said.