Norway food prices rise sharply amid higher energy costs, official data show

“The price war happened in March this year, but in April last year. Therefore, the figures from these two months alone do not give a true picture of the price development over twelve months for food and drink,” Stein Rommerud, executive vice president of communications at Norgesgruppen, told NRK.

He added that “the Easter effect always disrupts the March and April figures.”

The rise in food prices contributed to overall inflation in Norway, with consumer prices in April standing 3.4% higher than a year earlier, according to official data.

Inflation remains above the Norwegian central bank’s 2% target after Norges Bank raised its key interest rate to 4.25% last week.

Chief economist Marius Gonsholt Hov of Handelsbanken said the latest figures were unlikely to trigger an immediate policy shift.

“If we had a very strong number today, it could have been a case of another interest rate hike in June. But there is no urgency now. I don’t think the next interest rate hike will come until September,” he said.

Chief economist Harald Magnus Andreassen of SpareBank 1 Markets said the data were in line with expectations and would not alter Norges Bank’s assessment.

He added that wage growth had outpaced price increases in recent years, meaning most households had not experienced a decline in purchasing power.

Chief economist Kjersti Haugland of DNB Carnegie said sustained wage growth remained a key driver of inflation, as companies passed higher costs on to consumers.

Fuel and lubricant prices fell 10.6% from March to April, helping ease inflationary pressure, according to Statistics Norway.

The decline followed a reduction in road taxes on gasoline and diesel introduced by the Norwegian parliament on April 1.

Regional tensions have escalated since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28, triggering retaliation from Tehran against Israel as well as US allies in the Gulf, alongside the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

A ceasefire took effect on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, but talks in Islamabad failed to produce a lasting agreement. The truce was later extended by US President Donald Trump without a set deadline, opening the way for diplomatic efforts toward a permanent resolution.

Since April 13, the US has enforced a naval blockade targeting Iranian maritime traffic in the waterway.

Trump announced Tuesday that the US military would temporarily pause “Project Freedom” to restore freedom of navigation for commercial shipping through the channel, while saying the American blockade would remain “in full force and effect.”