The Norwegian economy grew more than expected during the third quarter of this year, new data has shown. Figures released by Statistics Norway revealed that the country’s economy grew by 0.7 percent over the three-month period. However, despite having exceeded forecasts, the figures still reflect a continued slowdown for the country since the beginning of the year.
Analysts attributed the better-than-expected numbers to strong performance from oil and gas-related industrial output and services. At the same time, the oil and gas sector also helped to trim Norway’s unemployment rate, which dropped from 3.1 percent to 3 percent last month.
However, a decline in the industry’s hydrocarbon output due to scheduled maintenance helped to shrink the country’s overall gross domestic product by 0.8 percent during the quarter.
Experts warn that European economic woes will continue to have far-reaching effects on the Nordic country, despite the fact that its growth rate appears much stronger than that of numerous economies in the West.