Norway's central bank holds policy rate at 4.5 pct-Xinhua - 新华网

OSLO, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Norway's central bank kept its policy rate unchanged at 4.5 percent on Thursday, saying it was prepared to raise borrowing costs again if needed to bring inflation back to target.

Norges Bank's Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Committee made the decision on Wednesday. The bank raised the rate to 4.5 percent in September.

"Inflation is too high. It will likely be necessary to keep the policy rate elevated for a time," Governor Ida Wolden Bache said.

Consumer prices rose 3.4 percent year-on-year in September. Inflation adjusted for tax changes and excluding energy products was 3.0 percent. Prices for domestically produced goods and services rose faster than the bank had projected in September, said the committee.

The committee said Norway's economic outlook had changed little since September. Capacity utilization appeared slightly below normal, while conflicts in the Middle East continued to cloud the inflation outlook. ■