Wage adjustment, job numbers from OPEC-US meeting – E24

This week, people should be prepared for the fact that there may be warnings from their bank that the interest rate will rise, says Derya Enkidorsson, consumer economist at Nordea.

On Thursday, the Norges Bank raised its key interest rate from 0.5 to 0.75 percent, and announced seven more rate increases by the end of 2023.

The day after the rate hike, Sparebank 1 Nord-Norge was the first bank to announce that it was raising the rate for lending on mortgages.

Incedursun says one should not be surprised if he is informed of a rate hike in the coming days, as banks follow the central bank.

– She said potential interest rate increases, as well as negotiations on a wage settlement, are the matters that will emerge in the coming week, in addition to the surrounding developments and the consequences of the war in Ukraine.

Mediation time-limit in settlement of wages

This year’s wage negotiations are drawing to a close.

The deadline for mediation is March 31, and compulsory mediation will take place on March 28, before a possible dissolution or strike comes on April 1.

This year’s wage settlement is the so-called master settlement, that is, both wages and other rights are negotiated.

First they are Fellesforbundet, Parat and Norsk Industri, which make up the so-called front thread. In practice, this means that competitive industries negotiate first and establish a framework for subsequent settlement.

Other guilds that come after use this settlement as a guide.

So, it’s important to you and me how this wage adjustment goes because this will set the framework for how your company during the spring will stabilize the wage adjustment, says Thea Olsen, consumer economist at Danske Bank.

She says that this year’s wage settlement is very important to each of us, and can be of great importance to the wallet.

Many are concerned about how increased food, fuel and electricity prices will affect everyone’s personal finances. Therefore, there will be high demands on us workers. At the same time, the employer does not want to raise wages too much, because the industry will lose its competitiveness abroad, she said.

Derya Incedursun in Nordea advises everyone who has the opportunity to negotiate their salary, and is not bound by collective agreements, to do so.

With the price of goods and services rising, there is one more reason to negotiate wages. Wages that track price growth are important, and it’s perfectly safe to talk to your employer about this, she says and continues:

The unemployment rate in Norway is very low and companies need workers. As it stands now, wage negotiations are stronger.

The “Most Important Number of the Month” from USA

Employment figures for this month will be provided from the US Department of Labor on Friday. The report shows the number of jobs created outside US agriculture last month. This number measures activity in the world’s largest economy, and is often referred to as the “most significant number of the month.”

On Monday, Statistics Norway’s Goods Consumption Index for March. The figure shows the evolution in retail trading volume in Norway.

On Friday, April 1, Obos will present home price statistics for March. Obos prices rose 2.1 percent in February, a much smaller increase than in January, when prices rose as much as 6.7 percent on a national basis.

In addition, there are inflation figures from a number of countries in Europe.

One of the big question marks in the economy this spring here is the increase in inflation, that is, how much prices have risen. That’s why we follow inflation figures around the world with an eye for controversy, says Thea Olsen of Danske Bank.

During the week, annual reports are also presented from a number of large companies, including Aker, Telenor and Norgesgruppen.

oil production meeting

Ministers of OPEC + countries will meet on Thursday to discuss the possibilities of increasing oil production.

Oil prices remained high in the weeks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Subsequent sanctions raised concerns about whether there was enough oil in the market, after oil market players feared sanctions and were skeptical about buying Russian oil shipments.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Doha Forum in Qatar on Saturday. There was a request from the oil and gas producing countries to increase production so that prices would fall Reuters.

Zelensky believes that production will rise and that lower oil and gas prices will mean that Russia will not be able to use its revenue from raw materials to “bribe” other countries.