Norway central bank keeps rate on hold, may hike again

​Norway's central bank kept its policy ​interest rate on hold ‌at 4.50% ​on Thursday, as unanimously predicted by economists in a Reuters poll, and reiterated that it may still tighten ‌policy to contain inflation.

"It will likely be necessary to keep the policy rate elevated for a time, and we are prepared to raise the policy rate if needed ‌to bring inflation down to target within a reasonable time horizon," Norges Bank ‌Governor Ida Wolden Bache said in a statement. The Norwegian crown currency weakened slightly to 10.44 against the euro at 0905 GMT, from 10.43 just before the announcement.

Norges Bank in September raised its ⁠policy ​interest rate by 25 ⁠basis points, the second hike in a cycle that began in May, and said it was ⁠prepared to do so again if the inflation outlook warranted it. The board on Thursday ​said conflicts in the Middle East were still creating substantial uncertainty about ⁠the inflation outlook, and that the future path of the policy rate would depend on how the ⁠economy ​evolved.

All 26 economists in an October 29-November 2 poll said they expected Norges Bank to keep rates on hold at 4.50% at this time, and ⁠the vast majority also predicted that the bank would make no further hikes. "The ⁠Committee has not ⁠received information indicating that the outlook for the Norwegian economy has changed materially since its monetary policy meeting in September," Norges ‌Bank said ‌in the statement.