The Norwegian economy advanced 0.5 percent on quarter in the three months to December 2018, slightly below the previous period's 0.6 percent growth and market consensus of 0.6 percent. Household spending rose 0.4 percent, reversing a 0.1 percent contraction in Q3; and government spending growth was unchanged at 0.1 percent. Meanwhile, fixed investment shrank 0.8 percent (vs 1.4 percent in Q3); petroleum activities and ocean transport dropped 2.7 percent (vs 2 percent in Q3); and net external demand contributed negatively to the growth as exports slumped 1.9 percent (vs 0.7 percent in Q3) and imports declined at a softer 1 percent (vs -0.4 percent in Q3). Mainland GDP, which excludes the largely petroleum-based offshore sector, expanded 0.9 percent in the fourth quarter, much faster than a 0.4 percent growth in Q3. GDP Growth Rate in Norway averaged 0.63 percent from 1978 until 2018, reaching an all time high of 4 percent in the fourth quarter of 1994 and a record low of -2.60 percent in the third quarter of 1987.
GDP Growth Rate in Norway is expected to be 0.40 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate GDP Growth Rate in Norway to stand at 0.70 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Norway GDP Growth Rate is projected to trend around 0.80 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.