Statistics Norway (SSB) recently published their yearly report about Norway’s consumer price index (CPI), which gives a good insight into exactly how the prices for goods have developed in the last 12 months.
Norway’s total consumer price index has increased by 4.8 % in total, but there are big differences between different sectors. The price level for electricity decreased by 0.6 %, while food increased with as much as a 9.3 % price increase.
Other sectors also experienced a high price increase, including hotels & restaurants (5.7 %), entertainment & culture (9.7 %), furniture & household items (8.8 %) and clothing & shoes (7.2 %).
But the sum is that Norwegians have to spend 4.8 % money to get the same goods we did exactly 12 months ago.
Electricity and fuel have become cheaper in the last 12 months
While most things have increased in price in 2023, two things have become cheaper as to one year one; fuel and electricity.
Norway’s electricity prices soared through the roof two years ago, and became as high as over 100x times the usual price. This had to do with electrical export to mainland Europe, which skyrocketed the electrical prices for most of Norway outside of northern Norway.
However, it has since gradually returned to a more sane level. It’s still incredible more expensive than just a few years ago, but significantly cheaper than 12 months ago (which was at the peak of the prices).
You might wonder why the electricity price only has a 0.6 % reduction in the consumer price index stats, and there are a couple of reasons. Firstly, the insanely high prices during the 2022 summer was an anomaly, and the prices for the rest of the year were more on-par with this year. Secondly, only certain regions in Norway have been affected by the increasing electricity prices due to how the export cables function. Electricity prices in western and northern Norway have been low and stable.
Fuel prices has seen a small drop compared to one year ago, but have been mostly somewhat stable the last 12 months.
A weak Norwegian krone makes it more expensive to import goods
The Norwegian krone is also historically cheap when traded against most major currencies like Euro or USD, which has been a factor that has affected the consumer price index in Norway.
You would have to pay almost twice as much for a dollar today compared to 8 years ago, which makes it significantly cheaper to buy goods from international stores. This has lead to a price gallop on international services, such as on streaming services, online stores that sell games etc.
This is great news for tourists who are looking to come to Norway, and has made coming to Norway as a tourist far cheaper than just a few years ago.
Many tourists took advantage of the cheap NOK this summer, making it one of the best summers for the tourism industry in Norway.
