Oslo, a Norway. ( AFP / JONATHAN NACKSTRAND )
The surge in prices caused by the war in the Middle East boosted the economic growth of Norway, the largest exporter of hydrocarbons in Europe outside Russia, in the first quarter, according to official figures published Thursday.
The Scandinavian country’s gross domestic product (GDP) jumped 6.2% over the first three months of the year, the Norwegian Statistical Institute (SSB) said in a press release.
Over the same period, the trade surplus stood at 226 billion crowns (21 billion euros), the institute said.
“The war in the Middle East caused a violent shock to the oil market. It increased the value of Norwegian oil and gas exports in the first quarter,” explained Pål Sletten, an SSB manager, quoted in the press release.
Consequence of the war triggered on February 28 by Israeli-American strikes against Iran, the paralysis of the Strait of Hormuz, an access route for around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas in normal times, led to a surge in hydrocarbon prices.
According to SSB, hydrocarbons exported by Norway saw their prices increase by 23.5% in the first quarter, with oil sales increasing by 14.2% and those of natural gas by 37%.
The preferred indicator of economists in Norway because it excludes the strong variations linked to hydrocarbons and international maritime transport, the so-called “continental” GDP showed a much more modest increase of 0.2%.
Citing the risk that the war in the Middle East would fuel inflation that was already too high, the Bank of Norway was at the beginning of May one of the first central banks in Europe to raise its key rate.
