Norway trade surplus grows on record gas exports

OSLO, Feb 16 (Reuters) – Norway’s trade surplus dropped by 21 percent in January from a year earlier, but grew from December as record-high gas exports helped boost the trade figures month-on-month, Statistics Norway said on Monday.

The value of Norway’s gas exports exceeded the value of its crude oil exports for a second consecutive month, as exports of gas have grown, oil prices have fallen steeply from mid-2008 peaks and Norwegian oil exports are in a long-term decline.

The trade surplus slimmed to 29.4 billion Norwegian crowns in January from 37.2 billion in the same month a year ago, hit by lower oil prices, but grew from 26.9 billion in December 2008, the government statistics agency reported.

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