Norges Bank, the Central Bank of Norway, raises the interest rate on commercial and savings banks' deposits with Norges Bank, the deposit rate, and on central bank overnight lending to these banks by 0.25 percentage point. With effect from 16 July 1997, the deposit and overnight lending rates are 3.5 and 5.5 per cent, respectively.

Central Bank Governor Kjell Storvik points out that the operational goal for monetary and exchange rate policy is a stable exchange rate against European currencies and that the decision was made in response to recent developments in money and foreign exchange markets.