ida wolden bache : policy rate kept on hold introductory statement by ms ida wolden bache, governor of norges bank ( central bank of norway ), at the press conference following norway's announcement of the policy rate, oslo, 3 may 2024. * * * presentation accompanying the speech chart : policy rate kept unchanged at 4. 5 percent the monetary policy and financial stability committee has decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 4. 5 percent. norges bank is tasked with keeping inflation low and stable. the operational target is inflation of close to 2 percent over time. we are also mandated to help keep employment as high as possible and to promote economic stability. in march, we signalled that the policy rate would likely be kept at 4. 5 percent for some time ahead. we have not produced forecasts this time, but we have assessed new information against the march forecasts. chart : slower disinflation internationally international price inflation has slowed considerably since peaking in 2022, but the decline in inflation has recently slowed. services prices are still rising rapidly in many countries. central banks abroad have held policy rates steady in recent months. the market's policy rate expectations have increased, and major central banks are now expected to make fewer rate cuts this year than anticipated in march. chart : somewhat weaker krone expectations of fewer rate cuts in the us have been accompanied by a broad appreciation of the us dollar, also against the krone. we are concerned with the krone exchange rate because it affects inflation and activity in the norwegian economy. a weaker krone means higher prices for imported goods. at the same time, the profitability of the export sector increases. that can lead to higher wage growth, which can in turn fuel inflation. chart : low growth in the norwegian economy the norwegian economy is cooling down. growth is low, and household consumption has declined so far this year. there are large differences between developments in the primary and secondary housing markets. while turnover is sluggish in the primary housing market, and construction activity is very low, the stock of unsold homes in the secondary market has declined markedly since autumn. prices in the secondary housing market have shown a clear rise so far this year. 1 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches the labour market has become less tight in recent years. employment is high but employment growth has slowed. we have recently seen a small increase in the number of unemployed registered with nav, but unemployment is still low.

an improving trend, with firmness in household spending spreading to the corporate sector and boosting production, although some effects of a winter snowstorm are still being observed. the benefits of the shale revolution are also being felt by the economy. looking ahead, the u. s. economy is expected to gradually see an acceleration in bis central bankers ’ speeches its pace of recovery, led mainly by private demand, partly because the fiscal drag will gradually fade as uncertainties surrounding the economy abate somewhat, mainly due to progress in the fiscal debate. in the european economy, business and household sentiment has been on an improving trend as financial markets have regained stability. in such circumstances, private consumption has been picking up, albeit moderately, and production is starting to pick up. further developments regarding the european debt problem, efforts to restore financial soundness, and the disinflationary trend warrant attention. nevertheless, the economy is likely to continue picking up, as domestic demand is expected to do so as well and as exports are likely to recover moderately. the chinese economy continues to see stable growth on the back of firm domestic demand including private consumption and fixed asset investment, although the pace of growth has decelerated somewhat. it is likely to maintain stable growth, as the government – while progressing with reforms to address structural problems – is expected to pursue policy measures that take due account of economic activity, although some uncertainties remain including the effects of excess production capacity and debt. regarding some of the other emerging and commodityexporting economies, in a situation where they are facing structural problems such as fiscal deficits and current account deficits, there have been outflows of funds against the background of the u. s. federal reserve ’ s reduction of the pace of its asset purchases. thus, continued attention is warranted on developments in these economies, including the effects on economic activity. emerging economies other than china and commodityexporting economies as a whole will likely lack growth momentum for the time being, but from a longer - term perspective, positive effects of the recovery in advanced economies will spill over to them. amid these developments in overseas economies, japan ’ s exports have generally been picking up but continue to lack some momentum. this may be partly attributable to structural factors including the shift of japanese firms ’ production sites to overseas accompanying increased local procurement of parts by japanese manufacturers. fundamentally, however, the lack of momentum is considered to be largely due to the sluggishness in the emerging economies,