The trade surplus ended at NOK 33.4 billion in December 2013, down 8.1 per cent compared to December 2012. Imports of goods increased partly due to the import of aeroplanes. In addition to the exports of salmon, oil exports pulled the trade balance in a positive direction. However, lower gas exports decreased the trade balance.

External trade in goods1Published 15 January 2014
NOK Million Change in per cent NOK Million - so far this year Change in per cent - so far this year
December 2013 November 2013 - December 2013 December 2012 - December 2013 December 2013 December 2012 - December 2013
1The figures are marked with the symbol *. This is Statistics Norways standard symbol for indicating preliminary figures.
2Due to the data collection method, the preliminary monthly figures published for ships and oil platforms are often incomplete. In retrospect, therefore, the trade in these goods could in some cases lead to major corrections in the figures. Please see tables 2-4 for the impact these figures have on the external trade.
Imports 45 919 -0.5 20.0 529 236 4.3
Ships and oil platforms2 1 335 14.4 224.8 10 107 20.0
Exports 79 343 -0.5 6.3 899 746 -3.8
Crude oil 26 804 17.8 18.9 278 871 -9.1
Natural gas 22 818 3.8 -7.1 241 650 -4.2
Natural gas condensates 569 -25.6 -10.0 8 249 -23.5
Ships and oil platforms2 770 24.6 39.7 6 380 11.4
Mainland exports 28 381 -15.6 7.6 364 596 1.2
The trade balance 33 424 -0.5 -8.1 370 510 -13.4
The mainland trade balance -16 203 -42.9 -41.1 -154 533 -11.1

The total export of goods in December 2013 of NOK 79.3 billion was 6.3 per cent higher than in December 2012. Imports of goods also increased due to the import of four aircrafts to a total of NOK 2 billion. The lower value of the NOK also affected import values and lowered the trade surplus by making imports more expensive.

Strengthened USD affected oil exports

The exports of crude oil amounted to NOK 26.8 billion in December 2013. This is an increase of almost NOK 4.3 billion, or 18.9 per cent compared to the corresponding month the previous year. The mean price per barrel of crude oil was up from NOK 617 in December 2012 to NOK 684 in December 2013. This was due to both an increase in the price of the US dollar and a strengthening of the USD compared to NOK. Exported volumes increased from 36.5 billion barrels in December 2012 to 39.2 million barrels in December 2013.

Exports of gas down compared to 2012

Exports of natural gas were down NOK 1.7 billion in December; 7.1 per cent less than December 2012. The total amounted to NOK 22.8 billion.

A total of 9.7 billion standard cubic metres of natural gas in a gaseous state were exported in December 2013. This was down 771 million compared to the same month in 2012.

High fish exports also this month

Mainland exports ended at NOK 28.4 billion in December; an increase of NOK 2.0 billion - or 7.6 per cent - compared with December 2012.

Exports of fish were high last month, but still slightly lower than October and November 2013. The value was in excess of NOK 6.1 billion - almost NOK 1.9 billion more than December 2012. The export quantity of fresh salmon ended at 77.6 thousand tonnes, with a value of NOK 3.7 billion in December 2013.

The average export price of fresh salmon was NOK 48 in December 2013.

Aircraft and cars contributed to increase in imports

Imports of goods amounted to NOK 45.9 billion in December 2013; an increase of NOK 7.6 billion, or 20 per cent, compared with 2012.

The main commodity group machinery and transport equipment showed the largest growth from December 2012 to 2013, with a value of about NOK 5.3 billion. About half of the growth was due to the aforementioned import of aircraft. The value of imported cars increased by almost NOK 600 million compared to December 2012, thereby ending at NOK 3.1 billion last month. Most of the increase was due to electric car imports.

Imports in December for industrial machinery were about the same level as the previous year, except general industrial machinery, which was up NOK 360 million.

Some consumer electronics products showed record high values in December. The value of mobile phones was NOK 170 million higher than in December 2012, ending at NOK 888 million. Portable computers, including tablets, were also up, by NOK 42 million. The import value of these products amounted to NOK 788 last month.

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