Norway’s exports surged to a record last year, helped by higher demand for fossil fuels, fish, and metals. Western Europe’s largest oil and gas exporter sold 1.38 trillion kroner ($156 billion) worth of goods abroad in 2021, a 77% increase that led to a full-year trade surplus of 531 billion kroner, also the highest ever, Statistics Norway said in a website statement on Monday. Higher fossil fuel prices are cementing the case for the central bank, one of the most hawkish in the developed world, to move ahead with a string of planned interest rate hikes despite the effect of new coronavirus-related restrictions. The krone, the third-best performer in the G-10 sphere of major currencies this year, strengthened after the news, gaining 0.1% to 9.9881 at 09:42 a.m. in Oslo. The […]