EUR/NOK trades at 1-month low as Norway GDP growth matches estimates

The EUR/NOK currency pair was hovering just above a fresh one-month low of 11.5874, after data showed Norway’s mainland GDP had grown in line with market expectations during the three months to March.

GDP in Norway’s mainland, which does not take into account the petroleum-based offshore sector, grew at a quarterly rate of 0.2% in Q1, following a revised 0.3% growth in the prior three months.

The slowdown was mostly attributed to lower household consumption, resulting from a sharp decrease in purchases of motor vehicles.

On the production side, higher activity in the manufacturing and services sectors that supply the oil industry bolstered overall growth.

Higher activity was also observed in sectors such as healthcare, social work, wholesale and retail trade.

Overall, the Norwegian economy expanded 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in Q1, decelerating from a revised 1.6% growth in Q4 of 2023.

The sharp slowdown was mostly driven by a 7.4% drop in fixed investments and a continuing decrease in household consumption.

In other macro data, Euro traders are now expecting the final report on Italian CPI inflation for April due out at 8:00 GMT.

The annual inflation rate in Italy was probably confirmed at 0.9% in April, slowing from 1.2% in March.

Currency Pair Performance

As of 7:40 GMT on Thursday the EUR/NOK currency pair was inching down 0.02% to trade at 11.6076.

The exotic Forex pair earlier touched a level not seen since April 16th below the 11.5900 mark.