COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Norway’s core inflation rate rose more than expected in February, Statistics Norway data showed on Monday, in a sign that the central bank could limit the decline in interest rates this year.
Core inflation, which strips out changing energy prices and tax, stood at 3.4% year on year, up from 2.8% in January and above the 2.9% expected by analysts in a Reuters poll.
The central bank had expected core inflation to ease to 2.7%.
Norway’s currency, the crown, strengthened to 11.73 against the euro by 0706 GMT, from 11.75 ahead of the data release.
Norges Bank in January kept interest rates on hold at a 17-year high of 4.50% and maintained its plans to start cutting borrowing costs in March for the first time in five years.
The central bank, which targets core inflation of 2.0%, has said that it may cut interest rates three times in total throughout the year and that the policy rate would decline to 3.75% by the end of 2025.
Norges Bank is scheduled to make its next policy rate announcement on March 27.
(Reporting by Louise Rasmussen, editing by Anna Ringstrom)
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