The newspaper online: There is little improvement on the horizon for southern Norwegian tourists and others hoping for a stronger Norwegian krone. This is shown by the main bank SR-Bank's business cycle barometer, where they asked 600 companies in southern Norway what they thought of the krone exchange rate.
More than 70 percent of companies expect krone Still weak Like now next year. 18% think it will be so Even weaker krone, and only ten percent are waiting for one more powerful Crown.
He was FinanceAffairs.com Who mentioned this issue for the first time.
The krone has weakened significantly in recent years and is priced at 11.57 Norwegian krone per euro and 10.66 Norwegian krone per dollar. It has seen a small jump recently after US inflation numbers rose, but it is well below the level it was a few years ago.
– We can say that they abandoned the krone exchange rate. Chief economist Kerry Knudsen at SR-Bank tells Netafsen that they no longer have hope that it will strengthen now.
Expensive for Norwegians
These are grim numbers for Norwegian consumers, as a weaker krone not only makes holidays abroad more expensive, but also contributes to skyrocketing prices, as imported goods become more expensive. This, in turn, contributes to higher interest rates.
– When you get inflation, interest rates and a weaker krone, there is a feeling of deprivation in several areas for Norwegian consumers, but the extent to which you are affected depends on the company you work for, how high your costs and debt are and how often you plan a holiday abroad, says the chief economist.
However, he believes that a weaker krone is very positive for the Norwegian economy as a whole, but there are some clearer losers and winners.
– The background is that, overall, it is very good for the Norwegian economy that the krone is weak. Our export revenues are much higher than our import expenditures.
A few winners
In the SR-Bank survey, only nine percent of companies said that they benefited from the lower krone exchange rate. On the other hand, he lost 38 percent due to weakness. As for the rest, he doesn't have much to say.
– However, the Norwegian system allows us to export four or five commodities with very high profitability – oil, gas, fish and minerals, and tourism is increasing. And then we import almost everything else. This creates a very large gap in this area – some industries (9 percent) generate significant income, while four times the number of companies lose, says Knutsen.
The chief economist himself believes that the value of the krone could rise.
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