Norway central bank raises interest rate, may hike again

‌Norway's central ​bank raised its policy interest rate by 25 ‌basis points to 4.50% on Thursday, seeking to contain inflation, as expected by ‌a narrow majority of analysts in a ‌Reuters poll, and said it may hike again.

"It will likely be necessary to keep ⁠the ​policy ⁠rate elevated for a time, and the committee ⁠is prepared to raise the policy rate further ​if needed to bring inflation ⁠down to the 2% target within a reasonable ⁠time ​horizon," Norges Bank Governor Ida Wolden Bache said in a statement. The ⁠Norwegian crown strengthened to 10.76 against the ⁠euro at ⁠0806 GMT, from 10.79 just before the announcement.