Norway deposits $230m into its wealth fund
In 2016, Prime Minister Erna Solberg dipped into the huge piggy bank after the price of oil plunged, sending Norway’s oil industry into crisis
Oslo — Norway made the first deposit to its $1-trillion wealth fund since 2016 as climbing oil prices and a recovering economy again swell its coffers. The finance ministry put 1.9-billion kroner ($230m) into the fund in June, cutting withdrawals in 2018 to 7.9-billion kroner, according to the Norwegian Government Agency for Financial Management. In its most recent budget released in May, the government had anticipated it would take out 21-billion kroner in 2018. In 2016, Prime Minister Erna Solberg became the first Norwegian leader to dip into the massive piggy bank after the price of oil plunged, sending Norway’s oil industry into its worst crisis in a generation. Norway’s biggest industry and the economy are now on the mend after crude has recovered to above $70 per barrel from below $30 at the worst of the crisis. The fund, which invests abroad to avoid stoking domestic inflation, has been tapped for about 150-billion kroner since early 2016 to plug budget deficits. With cash-fl...
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