Norway Trade Surplus Grows Sharply In July

(RTTNews) - Norway's foreign trade surplus increased significantly in July compared with a year ago, driven by exports growing substantially faster than imports, according to data released Monday by Statistics Norway.

The trade surplus rose to NOK 84.3 billion in July from NOK 53.7 billion in the same month last year. In June, the surplus was 63.3 billion.

Exports surged 21.5 percent annually in July, while imports rose only 0.1 percent. The growth in exports was driven by a 49.3 percent jump in outflows of natural gas. Meanwhile, inflows of ships and oil platforms logged a 100.0 percent slump.

Mainland exports rose 4.1 percent annually, while they fell 14.0 percent from a month ago. The mainland trade deficit was NOK 27.3 billion, up from NOK 26.4 billion in June.