Central Banks
Norway Keeps Rate Steady and Signals First Cut in March
- Norges Bank holds key rate at 4.5% as economy holds up
- Officials give clear signal of first cut at the March meeting
Ida Wolden Bache during an interest rates news conference in Oslo, on Dec. 19.
Photographer: Naina Helén Jåma/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Norway’s central bank held its borrowing costs unchanged at a 16-year high and said the benchmark rate will most likely be reduced in March.
Norges Bank kept the key deposit rate at 4.5%, the highest since December 2008, as predicted by all analysts in a Bloomberg survey. It signaled a somewhat more cautious approach to easing on Thursday, projecting three quarter-point cuts by the end of next year, compared with four moves expected by analysts.