Norway's annual inflation came in at 3.5 percent in December, unchanged from the previous month's two-year high and slightly above market consensus of 3.4 percent. Upward pressure came from: housing & utilities (5.9 percent vs 5.3 percent in November); transport (3.5 percent vs 4.8 percent); food & non-alcoholic beverages (3.4 percent vs 4.3 percent); recreation & culture (3.2 percent vs 3 percent); restaurants & hotels (3.2 percent vs 3 percent); furnishings, household equipment & routine maintenance (3.3 percent vs 2.6 percent); and miscellaneous goods & services (1.6 percent vs 1.4 percent). Annual core inflation rate, which is adjusted for tax changes and excludes energy products, edged down to 2.1 percent in December, still beating market consensus of 2 percent and staying above the central bank's 2 percent target for second straight month. On a monthly basis, both consumer prices and the core index were flat. Inflation Rate in Norway averaged 4.60 percent from 1950 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 18.90 percent in June of 1951 and a record low of -1.80 percent in January of 2004.
Inflation Rate in Norway is expected to be 1.90 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Inflation Rate in Norway to stand at 1.70 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Norway Inflation Rate is projected to trend around 1.50 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.