Fourth quarter revenue down for Norway

A snapshot of total revenue for Norway, one of Europe's lead oil and gas suppliers, revealed declines for the fourth quarter, the government reported.

Norway sends nearly all of the oil and natural gas produced offshore to the European market, making it one of the region's leading suppliers outside of Russia. The European economy last year grew at a slow pace while crude oil prices struggled to break out of the $50 per barrel range until late in the year.

In an overview of fourth quarter figures, the Norwegian government reported total revenue down 9.8 percent year-on-year. Operating surplus from the state's direct financial interest in the petroleum sector was down nearly 32 percent and, at $17.8 million, total tax revenue was lower by 7.5 percent.

Total spending, meanwhile, was up 0.7 percent to $36.5 million.

Full-year 2016 gross domestic product increased 0.8 percent, its slowest rate since the global financial crises from the last decade. Emerging growth was apparent, however, as fourth quarter GDP increased by an annualized 1.3 percent.

Last month, Norway's office for statistics reported that, generally speaking, the economy has been in a cyclical downturn because of pressures from the petroleum industry since late 2014, though there are signs of growth for 2017.

For investments in the energy industry, the government reported declines that began before the recession continued into late 2016 as low crude oil prices curbed spending. Employment in the petroleum sector, meanwhile, is down 24 percent from its peak in early 2014, though declines there slowed down last year.

Norge Bank, the country's central bank, left its key rate unchanged at 0.5 percent in March. In a statement of justification, the bank said inflation would be lower than expected, which it said implied the Norwegian economy is becoming isolated.