Norway Central Bank: Economy Challenged, Not in Crisis

The sharp fall in oil prices is a challenge to the economy of crude-exporter Norway but does not amount to a crisis, central bank Governor Oeystein Olsen told Reuters on Tuesday.

The price of North Sea oil has dropped by more than 70 percent since mid-2014 to trade at near-12-year lows, leading oil firms to slash investments and lay off staff.

"We follow the oil price and it has gone down since December but we still have time until we have a new (monetary policy) report and a lot of things can happen, in the oil market also, so it's far too early to make any conclusion,", Olsen said on the sidelines of a central banking conference in Paris.

"There is still no crisis, that word is too strong, but there is no doubt that there is a challenge for the Norwegian economy," he added.

The central bank's next policy report and interest rate decision are due in March.

Reporting by Balazs Koranyi