Norway's merchandise trade surplus decreased significantly from last year in May as external sales decreased at a faster rate than imports, data released by Statistics Norway showed Monday.
The trade surplus decreased 20.1 percent on an annual basis to NOK 30.1 billion in May. Compared to April, however, the balance increased by 14.3 percent.
Export of goods declined 11.2 percent year-on-year to NOK 72.86 billion in May. Sequentially, meanwhile, the value of shipments moved up by 1.4 percent. The export of crude oil declined the most, but mainland exports were also considerably lower than last year, the agency said.
Imports decreased 3.6 percent from a year earlier to NOK 42.77 billion during the month. Compared to April, external purchases fell by 6.1 percent. The decline was distributed across almost all commodity groups, with imports of mineral fuels recording a sharp fall of 32.5 percent, data showed.
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