Norway’s mainland economy grew at a faster pace than economists had expected in the second quarter while first-quarter growth was revised upwards, Statistics Norway (SSB) data showed on Thursday.
“The expansion in the first half of 2025 comes after a longer period of subdued growth in the Norwegian economy,” SSB said in a statement.
The April-June period saw a rise in mainland GDP of 0.6% compared with the January-March period, while the central bank and economists polled by Reuters had expected growth of 0.3%.
First-quarter growth was revised upwards to 1.2% from 1.0%.
Norway’s crown currency strengthened against the euro to trade at 11.90 by 0607 GMT from 11.92 ahead of the data release.
Norges Bank last week kept interest rates on hold at 4.25%, as unanimously predicted by analysts, and reiterated plans to cut borrowing costs later this year.
Mainland GDP, which excludes the often volatile impact of oil and gas production, is the most commonly watched measure of how the Norwegian economy is performing.