Norway’s central bank enacts big rate hike to tame inflation

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norway’s central bank has raised its key policy interest rate by half a percentage point, saying “inflation has been considerably higher than projected. The rate increase Thursday to 1.75% is larger than expected as the bank takes aim at inflation that reached 6.8% in July. Norges Bank says “activity in the Norwegian economy is high” and unemployment is very low. It says inflation may remain high longer than expected so a faster rate hike now may prevent sharper tightening later. Based on the outlook and balance of risks, the bank says it will likely raise the policy rate further in September.