MNI: Norges Bank Leaves Key Rate Unchanged At 0.75% - Text

     LONDON (MNI) - The Norges Bank kept its key policy rate unchanged at 0.75%

following its meeting Thursday.

     The full text of the Norges Bank statement follows.

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     Policy rate unchanged at 0.75 percent 

     Norges Bank's Executive Board has decided to keep the policy rate unchanged

at 0.75 percent.

     In Monetary Policy Report 4/18, which was published on 13 December 2018,

the Executive Board's assessment was that capacity utilisation in the Norwegian

economy was close to a normal level. Underlying inflation was close to the 2

percent target. The Executive Board's assessment of the outlook and balance of

risks suggested that the policy rate would most likely be raised in March 2019.

     The outlook and the balance of risks imply a gradual increase in the policy

rate. Global growth is a little weaker than projected, and there continues to be

considerable uncertainty surrounding developments ahead. In Norway, economic

growth and labour market developments appear to be broadly as projected, while

inflation has been slightly higher than expected.

     "Overall, new information indicates that the outlook for the policy rate

for the period ahead is little changed since the December Report", says Governor

Oystein Olsen.

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: M$E$$$,M$X$$$,M$$EC$]