Norway's industrial confidence indicator fell to 6.9 in the fourth quarter of 2018 from a downwardly revised 8.7. It was the weakest industrial confidence since the first quarter last year. Manufacturers reported an increase in total production of intermediate, capital, consumer goods; and the overall employment rose, with both oil investment and contract volume reporting strong growth. Still, new orders from both the domestic and export market increased. The general outlook for the second quarter of 2019 is clearly positive for manufacturing. Industry leaders report that growth rate for employment, new order and total stocks of order are expected to increase further. Also, optimism is also reflected in the indicator for future investment, where it is reported that approved investment plans are adjusted upwards. Business Confidence in Norway averaged 3.41 Index Points from 1988 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 69 Index Points in the first quarter of 2019 and a record low of -22.90 Index Points in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Business Confidence in Norway is expected to be 9.10 Index Points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Business Confidence in Norway to stand at 8.00 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Norway Industry Confidence is projected to trend around 5.10 Index Points in 2020, according to our econometric models.