Norway central bank keeps interest rate unchanged at 4.5%

ISTANBUL

Norway's central bank has decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 4.5% for the ninth time in a row, an official release issued on Thursday said.

“The policy rate will likely be reduced in March,” Norges Bank Governor Ida Wolden Bache said in the statement.

The bank raised the policy rate in autumn 2021 to combat high inflation, and it has remained at 4.5% since Dec. 2023.

"The interest rate has contributed to cooling down the Norwegian economy and to dampening inflation," the bank said, adding: "Unemployment has edged up from a low level.

"Inflation has moved closer to target, but the rapid rise in business costs is likely to contribute to stoking inflation ahead."