Posted By Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on December 19, 2024

OSLO (Reuters) - Norway's central bank held its policy interest rate unchanged at a 16-year high of 4.50% on Thursday, as unanimously expected by analysts in a Reuters poll, and said it plans to start cutting borrowing costs in March next year.
"The committee judges that a restrictive monetary policy is still needed to stabilise inflation around target, but that the time to begin easing monetary policy is soon approaching," Norges Bank Governor Ida Wolden Bache said in a statement.
"Based on the committee's current assessment of the outlook, the policy rate will most likely be reduced in March 2025," Norges Bank said.
The Norwegian crown weakened to 11.78 against the euro at 0904 GMT, from 11.76 just before the announcement.
(Reporting by Gwladys Fouche, editing by Terje Solsvik)