OSLO (Reuters) – Norway’s monthly consumer sentiment index (CCI) fell to minus 9.6 points in March from minus 8.0 points in February, surveying firm Opinion said on Friday.
All subcomponent of the index were negative, it added.
It was the 18th consecutive month of negative numbers. The index hit an all-time low in December of minus 11.7 points.
The sharp fall in oil prices since mid-2014 has resulted in lower investments and rising unemployment in Norway, which generates about a fifth of its economic output from offshore energy production.
CCI is a measure of Norwegian consumers’ average expectations for their own as well as the country’s economy, unemployment and their ability to save money in the next 12 months.
(Reporting by Camilla Knudsen)
