Norway: Industrial output contracts at sharpest pace since March 2002 in September
Industrial output dived 8.6% in month-on-month seasonally adjusted terms in September, which was a larger contraction than August’s 1.0% decrease. September’s result marked the worst reading since March 2002. Looking at the details of the release, September’s downturn was largely driven by a fall in extraction and related services—which account for around 75% of industrial output in Norway. In addition, production contracted in both the manufacturing, and electricity, gas and steam sub-sectors.
On an annual basis, industrial production dove 20.1% in calendar-adjusted terms in September, which was notably below August’s 8.7% fall and marked the worst result on record. Accordingly, the trend pointed down, with the annual average variation of industrial production coming in at minus 5.6% in September, down from August’s minus 3.8%.