Norway’s PM Relieved as Nation Avoids Crisis of Sub-$45 Crude

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg is breathing easier now that western Europe’s biggest crude producer looks poised to avoid the peril of oil prices sinking below $45 per barrel.

Brent crude, the lifeblood for a nation that depends on petroleum for about 20 percent of its economic output, has rallied more than 40 percent since a Jan. 13 low of about $45. That has eased pressure on Solberg who three days after oil prices reached that low called a crisis meeting with the finance minister and the head of the central bank.