Norway's consumer confidence declined to 14.6 in the fourth quarter of 2018 from a downwardly revised 15.2 in the previous period. It was the lowest reading since the second quarter of 2017, as consumers' expectations regarding their own financial conditions next year weakened sharply (18.8 vs 23.1 in Q3) and their willingness to make large purchases softened (10.4 vs 11.4). Meantime, households' expectations towards the country's economy last year improved (18.2 vs 16.3), as well as those towards the country's economy over the next 12 months (2.9 vs 1.3). "Fear of higher interest rates and increased turmoil in the world economy can explain something of the case, " the CEO of Finance Norway Idar Kreutzer said. "The development may indicate that households have become more uncertain", he added. The country's consumer confidence hit a 24-year low of -15.2 in the first quarter of 2016, due to a plunge in crude oil prices. Consumer Confidence in Norway averaged 17.36 Index Points from 1992 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 34.90 Index Points in the first quarter of 1997 and a record low of -17.40 Index Points in the third quarter of 1992.
Consumer Confidence in Norway is expected to be 17.00 Index Points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Consumer Confidence in Norway to stand at 20.59 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Norway Consumer Confidence is projected to trend around 17.00 Index Points in 2020, according to our econometric models.