First price increase in PPI since December

The price on natural gas went up in August after three months with a relatively sharp decline. In a historical perspective, the price on natural gas is still at a very low level. The price on crude oil had just a small rise in August. The total price change in extraction of oil and natural gas combined thus increased by approximately 5 per cent. Prices within refined petroleum products rose by 3.4 per cent during the same period. When excluding energy goods, the PPI had a modest drop of 0.3 per cent in August.

Colder weather and higher electricity prices

The price index on electricity, gas and steam rose by 6.2 per cent in August. This was mainly due to lower temperatures in combination with less rain. At the export market the Spot price from Nord Pool is the only price indicator and this had a strong increase in August after being at an extremely low level the two previous months.

Sharp decline in seafood exports led to reduced fish prices

According to the Norwegian Seafood Council, there was a huge reduction in the exports of seafood in August. The fall was partly due to reduced demand from Europe because of holiday, in addition to reduced restaurant consumption as a result of the corona pandemic. The Norwegian Seafood Council further writes that salmon exports to China were sharply reduced in August compared with the same period last year. Lower demand for mainly Norwegian salmon and cod resulted in a fall in the export price of fish by almost 4 per cent in August. This was the fifth month in a row with a decline in the export price of fish and the largest fall so far this year.