In Monetary Policy Report 1/17, which was published on 16 March 2017, it was the Executive Board's assessment that there was a continued need for an expansionary monetary policy. Capacity utilisation in the Norwegian economy was assessed to be below a normal level, and inflation was expected to range between 1 and 2 percent in the coming years. The Executive Board was of the view that the key policy rate would most likely remain at 0.5 percent in the period ahead.

The twelve-month rise in consumer prices adjusted for tax changes and excluding energy products (CPI-ATE) was 1.7 percent in March, approximately as expected in the March Report. Registered unemployment has declined and is lower than projected. The krone exchange rate has depreciated, while expected money market rates for trading partners have fallen.

"The outlook and the balance of risks for the Norwegian economy do not appear to have changed substantially since the March Report. The key policy rate has therefore been kept unchanged at this meeting," says Governor Øystein Olsen.

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