Norway Consumer Morale Worsens in Q2

Norway’s consumer confidence indicator fell to -20.0 in Q2 2026, following an upwardly revised -12.4 in the previous quarter. This marked the seventeenth consecutive period of negative sentiment and the most pessimistic reading since Q1 2024, as consumers’ expectations for the country’s economic performance continued to weaken over the past twelve months (-47.0 vs -31.7 in Q1) and over the next twelve months (-35 vs -20.1). Moreover, households’ sentiment about their personal finances a year ahead turned negative (-4 vs 9.5), alongside their assessment of personal finances over the past year (-9 vs 0.5). The outlook also deteriorated further with regard to major purchases (-16 vs -11.2).

Norway’s consumer confidence indicator fell to -9.4 in Q1 2026 from an upwardly revised -4.7 in the previous quarter, marking the sixteenth consecutive period of negative sentiment. Consumers’ expectations for the country’s economic performance continued to weaken over the past twelve months (-31.7 vs -24.4 in Q4) and the next twelve months (-20.1 vs -8.3). Households' optimism about their personal finances a year ahead declined slightly (9.5 vs 10.1), while sentiment toward major purchases became more negative (-11.2 vs -8.9). In contrast, households reported a modest improvement in their assessment of personal finances over the past year (0.5 vs -0.1).

Norway’s consumer confidence indicator rose to -3.7 in the fourth quarter of 2025 from a downwardly revised -4.5 in the previous quarter. This marked the fifteenth consecutive period of negative sentiment but the least pessimistic reading in the sequence, as consumers became less negative about the country’s economic outlook for the coming year (-24.4 vs -28.3 in Q3) and viewed the time for making large purchases as slightly less unfavorable (-8.9 vs -9.1). Meanwhile, households turned slightly negative about their own finances over the past year (-0.1 vs 6.9) and were less optimistic about the future (10.1 vs 21.8). At the same time, consumers became more negative about the country’s economic performance over the past twelve months (-8.3 vs -3.3).