Norway CB Keeps Rates on Hold

Norway’s central bank kept its interest rates on hold at 0.5% after its October meeting, waiting for the local economic recovery to gather more steam before it joins its peers in raising rates, Bloomberg reported. Central banks across the developed world are starting to raise rates after years of stimulus, but Norges Bank never lowered its interest rates as far as banks elsewhere in Europe and North America. On Thursday it said it expects to keep them on hold for the foreseeable future. Norway’s economy struggled in the wake of 2015?s collapse in oil prices, sending it into a brief recession last year, but growth has picked up in recent months. Last month the bank brought forward its forecast for when rates eventually will start rising, encouraged by the brighter outlook for both oil prices and global economic growth. It added that overall developments over the last month have been “broadly in line” with its expectations, though inflation and the krone exchange rate have both been slightly weaker than expected.