Norway holds rates steady as expected

Norway's central bank kept interest rates on hold at 4.50% on Friday, in line with expectations, adding that a tight monetary policy stance may be necessary longer than planned to curb inflation.

The central bank said in March that it could start cutting rates in September from the current 16-year high, but had not yet decided when to start, Governor Ida Wolden Bache told a news conference on Friday.

"The data so far could suggest that a tight monetary policy stance may be needed for somewhat longer than previously envisaged," Norges Bank said in a statement.

The policy committee reiterated that the current policy rate of 4.5% was sufficiently high to return inflation to target within a reasonable time horizon.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com