Norway’s industrial confidence rose to 2.6 in Q2 2026, up from an upwardly revised 1.4 in the previous quarter, but remained below its long-term average of 2.9. The improvement reflected a modest increase in total industrial production, driven primarily by strong output growth among intermediate goods manufacturers. By contrast, consumer goods production was unchanged, and investment goods output continued to fall as weaker oil and gas investment dampened demand.
Employment remained broadly stable for the third consecutive quarter. However, overall orders declined amid softer domestic and export demand, with capital goods orders posting a particularly sharp drop. On the cost side, input prices continued to rise more quickly than selling prices, putting further pressure on margins.
Looking ahead to the third quarter, firms expect increases in production, employment, new orders, and order backlogs, even as they anticipate further rises in both input costs and selling prices.
