Norway Inflation Eases More Than Forecast; PPI Inflation Rises Slightly

(RTTNews) - Norway's consumer price inflation eased more-than-expected in November from a 35-year high in October, while producer price inflation rebounded slightly, separate reports from Statistics Norway showed on Friday.

Consumer price inflation slowed to 6.5 percent in November from 7.5 percent in October. Economists had forecast inflation to moderate to 7.0 percent.

Prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages alone surged 12.7 percent annually in November. This was followed by a 9.6 percent rise in transport costs.

Utility costs were 4.9 percent more expensive compared to last year, and those for restaurants and hotels rose 6.6 percent.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices edged down 0.2 percent in November, reversing a 0.3 percent gain in October. Meanwhile, prices were expected to rise by 0.1 percent.

Core inflation, which excludes energy prices and tax changes, eased to 5.7 percent in November from 5.9 percent in the previous month. Meanwhile, inflation was expected to rise to 6.0 percent.

The EU harmonized inflation softened to 7.3 percent in November from 8.4 percent in October. Month-on-month, the harmonized index of consumer prices dropped 0.2 percent.

In a separate report, the statistical office said producer price inflation rose to 22.3 percent in November from October's 18-month low of 19.8 percent.

The overall inflation in November was largely driven by a 26.7 percent price growth in energy goods.

On a monthly basis, producer prices climbed 5.2 percent in November, after falling sharply by 16.5 percent in the prior month.