Somewhat higher output growth, market prospects revised up slightly
The contact enterprises in Norges Bank’s regional network reported that output growth had edged up in the past 3 months. All industries reported growth, but there were wide variations across industries. Overall, contacts expected slightly lower growth in output over the next 6 months, but growth prospects were revised up from the previous round.
As in the two previous surveys, activity increased most in the oil supplier industry and in construction. Growth in domestically oriented manufacturing and the export industry was lowest and weaker than in the previous round. Market prospects varied considerably across industries. The oil supplier industry expected still strong growth ahead, while the export industry expected growth to continue to decline.
Contacts expected weak growth in investments over the next 12 months, a downward adjustment compared with plans in November. Employment growth decelerated in line with contacts’ expectations in November, but was still high in the construction industry. Contacts expected continued growth in employment ahead.
Overall, contacts estimated annual wage growth for 2012 at just below 4 percent. The lowest estimate was for retail trade, while the highest estimate was for services.
In this round, 320 regional network enterprises provided information for the report. The bulk of interviews were conducted in January.
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