the low level of inflation may be partly due to a lag in price adjustments following the indirect tax changes. among the companies in our regional network, the share expecting a sharper rise in selling prices in the coming year is larger than the share expecting a slower rise in prices. tns gallup ’ s business sentiment survey conveys a more neutral impression. nevertheless, both surveys indicate expectations of a sharper rise in prices in the service sector. the other nordic countries have also experienced falling inflation. inflation in the nordic countries has declined, and is now relatively low in sweden, denmark, finland and norway. according to the harmonised indices of consumer prices, inflation in february was around 1 per cent in denmark, sweden and norway, while the year - on - year rise in prices was unchanged in finland. by way of comparison, inflation in the euro area was a good 2 per cent. a common feature of the low level of inflation in the nordic countries seems to be the sluggish trend in prices for imported consumer goods, even though developments have not been entirely the same in all the nordic countries. the upturn is broadly based. this also applies to the counties in the central norway region. most industries here are continuing to show solid growth, and there is confidence that growth will remain firm for the rest of the year. the level of activity in the construction sector is high. manufacturing industry producing goods for the construction sector is experiencing solid growth. in contrast to the prospects for the rest of the country, however, the pace of growth in the construction sector in central norway seems to be moderating. turnover growth is stable in retail trade, partly due to an increase in the number of sales outlets. the fish farming industry has also shown considerable turnover growth recently. the printing industry is still in decline. employment is largely stable. in the construction industry, the labour market is tight and enterprises are making use of foreign labour to some extent. the supply of skilled labour is, however, a constraint on growth potential. signals from service industries also indicate that the supply of labour is becoming more limited. the general level of investment in this region is relatively stable. investment activity in the public sector appears to be somewhat lower in 2005 than in 2004. in manufacturing and services, there are signs of increased investment activity. tender prices are rising slightly in the building and construction industry as a result of increased costs and a higher level of activity throughout the country. prices have risen slightly in manufacturing and service industries. in

norwegian economy. some of the rise in prices for domestically produced goods and services can be attributed to higher margins in the business sector. the effects of the interest rate decline on demand, output and employment have been pronounced. it has taken time for inflation to pick up. this partly reflects low external interest rates and high oil prices, which have moderated the impact on the krone exchange rate. higher imports from low - cost countries, competition and improved efficiency in norwegian production have also kept inflation at a low level. initially, it was the fall in prices for imported consumer goods that pushed down underlying inflation. after a period, the rise in prices for domestically produced goods and services also slowed. this was due in particular to increased competition in some goods and service markets. at the same time, wage growth eased as a result of lower capacity utilisation in the economy. a more subdued rise in house rents also contributed. inflation measured by the cpi - ate reached its lowest level in the first months of 2004. inflation remained at below ½ per cent until the end of summer and then picked up through the autumn. inflation moved up primarily as a result of a slower decline in prices for imported consumer goods. the depreciation of the krone since the beginning of 2003 has contributed to these developments. in addition, the rise in prices for domestically produced goods and services stabilised, and towards the end of 2004 there was a tendency towards a higher rise in prices for these goods and services. at the beginning of 2005, inflation measured by the cpi - ate was lower than expected. the fall in prices for imported consumer goods was unexpectedly sharp. it is uncertain whether this price fall was due to abnormal seasonal patterns or a decline in underlying inflation. the fall in prices may be related to an unusually warm winter, which has made it more difficult to sell winter clothing and sports equipment at ordinary prices. on the other hand, there are indications that prices for imported consumer goods in foreign currency may have fallen somewhat more than previously assumed. the wide variations in prices for some imported consumer goods, especially clothing and footwear, may lead to wide monthly variations in consumer price figures. excluding changes in prices for clothing and footwear, the year - on - year rise in the cpi - ate in march was 1. 2 per cent, down from 1. 3 per cent in february. changes in indirect taxes, and particularly in vat rates, have made it more difficult to interpret the price figures for the beginning of the year.