Norway’s budget surplus soars on oil

The Norwegian government’s budget surplus for 2008, benefiting from record oil prices, is expected to soar more than 23 percent over the original projections, the finance minister said Thursday.

Norway is a major oil and natural gas exporter and the government’s regular six-month budget revision projected a surplus for the year of 424.2 billion kroner ($85 billion) compared to the 344 billion in the original 2008 budget.

The Nordic nation of 4.7 million people is enjoying an economic boom, and Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen said the government must show restraint to avoid overheating the national economy.

“The use of economic capacity is extremely high, and in many sectors it is difficult to find qualified workers,” she said. “Therefore, the government strongly stresses the need to keep use of oil revues at a level that supports a continued balanced development in the Norwegian economy.”

AP