At the May meeting last year Norges Bank clearly stated that it was no reason to change view on rates compared to the March rate forecast. It was no such clear summing up this time. Inflation and growth domestically and abroad has been as expected. But average lending rates will be somewhat lower than expected and housing prices is increasing more than expected. On the other hand it seems that rates abroad will lower than expected. Whether these factors rule each other out is not stated.
It might seem strange that Norges Bank do not view Norwegian growth to be slightly on the strong side. Norges Banks short term growth model SAM points to somewhat higher growth. The reason Norges Bank still see growth as expected seems to be that they are hesitant to draw strong conclusions on figures which could be disturbed by the timing of Easter. That its business survey points to weaker growth are also given much weight.
Despite no clear statement that it still stick to the March report the overall message seems that Norges Bank see no reason to change view significantly.
Nordea