Norway's annual inflation rate fell to its lowest level since 1960 last year with a sharp decline in electricity prices helping limit price increases to 0.8 percent from 2006, Statistics Norway announced Thursday.
The annual rate for 2006 was 2.3 percent in 2006 and 1.6 percent in 2005, the state agency said.
The Nordic nation is a major oil and natural gas producer, and has been enjoying an economic boom and low unemployment due to high petroleum prices.
Statistics Norway said growth in the 2007 consumer price index was pulled down by a 21.5 percent decline in electricity costs compared to 2006, when Norwegians were stung by record high power bills. The agency said a 5.1 percent decline in the cost of clothing and footwear, as well as lower prices for telecommunications and audiovisual equipment also curbed price growth.
Those declines were offset by a 6.2 percent increase in the cost of maintaining and repairing residential dwellings, a 3.7 percent rise in the cost for using personal transportation, and 2.5 percent increase in food costs.
The consumer price index for all of 2007 was 118.6, compared to 117.7 for 2006, using 1998 as a base year with an index of 100.
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