Here's a Roundup From Economists on Norway's Regional Network

(Bloomberg) -- Norges Bank regional network report showed companies are the most upbeat on production since the end of 2012 as the oil crisis abates.

Policy makers meet next week to decide on interest rates again. They have flagged a potential rate hike in December of this year. The krone rose 0.2 percent to 9.63 per euro as of 12:04 p.m. in Oslo.

Danske Bank

• The strong report “confirms” a rate hike in the second half
  • Says survey implies that domestic growth will add some upside to Norges Bank rate path next week, increasing the probability of a September hike even if our base case remains December
  • Says release underpins a bullish view on the krone, as the higher and broader based growth outlook allows for the krone to erase some of the losses that fundamentally have been required over past years

DNB

• Report was stronger than we had expected, and will probably also contribute to an upward adjustment of Norges Bank’s growth projections
  • Says indicates an annualized growth rate of about 2.8% the next six months, higher than Norges Bank’s 2018 growth projection of 2.3%
  • Says expect Norges Bank to raise rates in December, but see a risk that the hike may come earlier

SEB

• Report suggests another move in a hawkish direction at the upcoming March 15 decision, cementing a first rate hike later this year
  • Says details were positive with uncertainties relating to the housing market seem to have abated somewhat as the construction sector lifted its output expectations, and oil-related sectors reported positive output growth for the first time since 2014 while non-oil exports enjoyed solid demand from abroad
  • Says contacts report a further increase in capacity constraints signaling that capacity utilization is rising faster than assumed by Norges Bank
  • We reiterate our expectations of a December hike

Nordea

• Today’s survey points to somewhat stronger growth in production than expected by Norges Bank, but significantly faster growth in employment
  • Taken together with lower than expected unemployment this argues for a higher rate path at the March meeting.
  • But remember Friday’s inflation figure could change that

Handelsbanken

• The outlook is significantly stronger than expected by Norges Bank, and the revised growth prospects will lift the bank’s assessment of the output gap
  • Says in isolation, this will also lift Norges Bank’s key policy rate path

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonas Cho Walsgard in Oslo at jchowalsgard@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jonas Bergman at jbergman@bloomberg.net.

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