Norwegian retail sales recover strongly in November

Norwegian retail sales recovered robustly in the month of November and might ease the concern that a subdued housing market would decelerate consumption growth considerably. Norway’s retail sales rose 2.1 percent on a sequential basis in November, as compared with Nordea’s expectation of a rise of 1 percent.

In 2017, retail sales in Norway have been quite volatile with a surge in the spring followed by a sharp drop since July. However, the figures for November are above the levels witnessed in the summer and up 3.1 percent year-on-year.

However, the figures for November and December should be monitored together due to uncertainty regarding the timing of Christmas shopping. Still, today’s figure is consistent with the view, stated Nordea Bank. Falling unemployment and positive growth in real wages should guarantee continued healthy growth in private consumption in spite of the subdued housing market. During its last MPC meeting, Norges Bank had expressed some concerns regarding weaker than expected consumption growth. Today’s retail sales figure should ease the concern about declining consumption growth, stated Nordea Bank.

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