Norges Bank keeps rate intact, sees 75 bps of cuts in 2025

The Norges Bank has kept its benchmark interest rate without change at a 16-year high of 4.5% for a fourth straight policy meeting in June, in line with market consensus.

The central bank noted the policy rate would likely remain at that level throughout the rest of this year.

Norges Bank said that monetary policy was sufficiently restrictive to ensure a tightening effect on the local economy, while curbing growth and allowing inflation to return to the bank’s target within a “reasonable time horizon.”

However, wage growth in the country is expected to surpass earlier forecasts.

Still, Norges Bank Governor Ida Wolden Bache said for public broadcaster NRK that the key policy rate could be reduced by a total of 75 basis points in 2025.

The Norwegian Krone was last 0.46% stronger on the day against the Euro, with the EUR/NOK currency pair trading at 11.2939.

The exotic Forex pair was hovering just above a fresh 20-week low of 11.2850, which it registered earlier in the session.