Norway Retail Sales Growth Cools in August

Retail sales in Norway rose 0.2% month-over-month in August 2025, easing from an upwardly revised 0.7% increase in July. The slowdown reflected declines in several categories, notably other retail in non-specialised stores (-3.8% vs 5% in July), ICT equipment (-1.9% vs 1%), and non-specialised stores overall (-1.4% vs 1.5%). Trade was also lower for automotive fuel (-0.6% vs -0.8%) and food, beverages, and tobacco (-0.2% vs 0.7%). These declines were slightly offset by stronger gains in other household equipment (1.9% vs 0.5%) and cultural and recreational goods (2.8% vs -2.2%), as well as more moderate growth in other goods (1.5% vs 1.7%). On a yearly basis, retail trade increased 5%, down marginally from 5.1% in July, which had marked the strongest rise since May 2021.