(MENAFN- AFP) Norway raised its key interest rate for the first time in seven years on Thursday, as its economy recovers from years of weak oil prices and the ramifications of the 2008 financial crisis.
The central bank raised its key rate by 0.25 points to 0.75 percent, and said a second hike was due again soon.
"The executive board's current assessment of the outlook and balance of risks suggests that the key policy rate will most likely be increased further in the first quarter of 2019," central bank governor Oystein Olsen said in a statement.
Thursday's hike had been widely expected.
The rate has been at a record low since March 2016, following the effects of the 2008 financial crisis and plunging prices for oil and gas -- the main driver of the Norwegian economy.
But recently, the economy has seen solid growth, thanks primarily to budget and monetary policies and the rising oil price.
Norway's mainland gross domestic product -- excluding shipping and oil and gas -- grew by 0.6 percent in the first quarter and 0.5 percent in the second.
Growth was expected to pick up further in future on rising oil investments.
Norway's central bank said it expected a "gradual interest rate increase in the years ahead".
The Scandinavian country last raised its key rate in May 2011.
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