Mainland Norway Q2 GDP Expands As Expected

Mainland Norway's economy expanded in the second quarter after contracting in the previous quarter, preliminary data from Statistics Norway showed on Thursday.

Gross domestic product of the mainland rebounded 0.7 percent from the first quarter, when it declined 0.4 percent. That was in line with economists' forecast.

Total GDP also advanced 0.7 percent from the previous three months after a 0.9 percent fall in the first quarter.

The overall expansion in the second quarter was attributed to a low level of activity in the first two months of this year.

"The modest development from March to June is mainly due to a decline in wholesale and retail trade, which masks an increase in several other service industries," Statistics Norway economist Pal Sletten said.

On the expenditure side, household consumption rose 3.2 percent in the second quarter. Nonetheless, rising inflation in the economy reduced the purchasing power of the consumers.

"Since the second half of 2021, prices have increased sharply, particularly on energy goods and raw materials imported from abroad and have gradually spread to the prices of other goods and services," Sletten said.

Total government consumption increased 0.2 percent, while gross investment in Mainland Norway dropped 2.9 percent.

On a monthly basis, GDP contracted 0.5 percent in June, after recovering 0.6 percent in May.

However, Mainland-Norway GDP expanded 0.3 percent at the end of the second quarter, in contrast to a 0.1 percent decline in May.

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