Norway's industrial confidence indicator edged up to 9 in the fourth quarter of 2018 from 8.9 in the previous period and little-changed from the second quarter's near seven-year high. Manufacturers reported an increase in total production of intermediate, capital, and consumer goods; and the overall employment rose, with producers of capital reporting strong growth, due to higher workloads and large projects among petroleum-related producers. Still, new orders from both the domestic and export market increased at a slower pace. The index for the general outlook for the first quarter of 2019 is now over 60 and is at its highest level since the fourth quarter of 2010. Industry leaders report that investment plans are slightly adjusted upwards and the growth rate for employment is expected to increase further. New orders from both the home and export market are also expected to increase further. The same is expected for the total stocks of orders. Business Confidence in Norway averaged 2.88 Index Points from 1988 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 20.10 Index Points in the fourth quarter of 2006 and a record low of -22.90 Index Points in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Business Confidence in Norway is expected to be 9.50 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 8.20 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.