Norway's consumer confidence declined to 12.7 in the first quarter of 2019 from a downwardly revised 14.2 in the previous period. It was the lowest reading since the second quarter of 2017, as households' expectations towards the country's economy last year weakened sharply (7.1 vs 18.2), as well as those towards the country's economy over the next 12 months (0.3 vs 2.9). Meanwhile, consumers' expectations regarding their own financial conditions next year improved (19.9 vs 18.8 in Q3) and their willingness to make large purchases strengthened (14.1 vs 10.4). "It may seem that we are experiencing an increased polarization in Norwegian society, where the belief in the future is linked to how people seem to vote", the CEO of Finance Norway Idar Kreutzer said. 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 17.32 Index Points from 1992 until 2019, 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 12.70 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 8.00 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Norway Consumer Confidence is projected to trend around 7.00 Index Points in 2020, according to our econometric models.