Mainland Norway's economy expanded at a slower pace in the first quarter, in line with expectations, preliminary data from Statistics Norway showed on Friday.
The gross domestic product of the mainland rose 0.2 percent from the fourth quarter, when it grew by 0.6 percent.?
The wholesale and retail industries were particularly responsible for the slower rise in the first quarter, as car sales were lower in early 2023 compared to an unusually large number of gains at the end of the previous year.
Total GDP also advanced 0.2 percent in the March quarter after remaining flat in the preceding three-month period.
On a yearly basis, the growth in Mainland Norway accelerated to 2.9 percent in the first quarter from 1.6 percent in the final quarter of 2022.
On the expenditure side, household consumption in Mainland Norway decreased 5.4 percent in the first quarter. Gross fixed capital formation fell 0.6 percent, largely due to lower investment in dwelling services and in public administration.
Meanwhile, total consumption in public administration rose 0.5 percent from the previous quarter. Both exports and imports increased by 1.7 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.
On a monthly basis, GDP rebounded 0.4 percent in March after a 0.2 percent fall in the previous month.
Similarly, Mainland-Norway GDP climbed 0.5 percent from February, when it decreased by 0.2 percent.
