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Norway\u2019s economy grew in January at a much faster pace than anticipated, adding to evidence the fossil fuel-rich Nordic country is weathering the fallout from higher cost of living better than expected.<\/p>\n
Mainland gross domestic product, which excludes the country\u2019s offshore industry, increased 0.4% from December, when it declined a revised 0.3%, according to\u00a0data<\/a>\u00a0from Statistics Norway on Monday. That beat the highest estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg, as well as the central bank\u2019s estimate of a 0.2% drop.<\/p>\n Wholesale and retail trade contributed the most to the increase, followed by electricity industry, the statistics office said.<\/p>\n The latest data is likely to add bets that central bank policymakers won\u2019t rush to cut the key interest rate from the current level of 4.5%, despite price growth easing. Even with Norwegians pulling back spending, the mainland economy has kept defying fears of recession, growing 0.7% last year with the help of oil and gas-linked sectors that were bolstered by windfall gains after European countries have levied sanctions on Russia.\u00a0<\/p>\n The brighter picture backs the outlook by Norway\u2019s finance ministry, which last week\u00a0forecast<\/a>\u00a0a slightly faster pace of expansion for the mainland economy this year, at 0.9%. The central bank in December projected full-year growth of just 0.1% in 2024.<\/p>\n Still, a key central bank survey of business contacts showed last week that economic output is expected to contract 0.1% in the first quarter, with \u201cvirtually unchanged activity\u201d through the first half of the year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nSubscribe to the new Fortune CEO Weekly Europe newsletter to get corner office insights on the biggest business stories in Europe. Sign up<\/a> for free.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n