The interest rate announcement was in line with expectations, but the message still had an impact on the currency market.
"We will likely keep the interest rate at 4.5 percent for the rest of the year," says Central Bank Governor Ida Wolden Bache in a press release.
It may not be until 2025 that gradual cuts become relevant, she adds.
For the Norwegian krone – which has been weighed down by the decline in oil prices and has lost 3-4 percent against the dollar and euro this year – the message from Wolden Bache provided a boost. As a result, one Norwegian krone now costs 97 öre, the strongest krone exchange rate since August. Against the euro, the increase was as much as ten öre.
The interest rate announcement from Oslo comes after the US central bank, the Federal Reserve (Fed), lowered its key interest rate for the first time in over four years on Wednesday.
The Swedish Central Bank, which has lowered the Swedish key interest rate twice earlier this year, is expected to lower the interest rate again at its next announcement on September 25.
