Norway`s trade surplus plunged NOK 23,8 billion in August this year. All the way down from NOK 30,5 billion to NOK 6,7 billion in the same month the prior year. This is happening in a country that is famous for being «the last Soviet state.» A country were the Communist party is growing in popularity like never before.
But is doesn`t matter, because most of the income is coming from oil and gas. In addition; they have $1 trillion in assets called The Government Pension Fund Global, also known as the Oil Fund. The fund was established in 1990 to invest the surplus revenues of the Norwegian petroleum sector.
The fund have stocks in 9158 different companies in 73 different countries. Most of the capital is invested in stocks and some of it in fixed income securities. A small part of the investments is invested in the real estate market.
The goal is to contribute to the walfare state.
Therefore, the fund and the country is dependend on sustainable growth, markets that works well and inovation.
Oil prices jumped more than 20 percent on Monday and that`s good news for Norway. The higher the price of oil, the more they earn. 62 percent of Norway`s export comes from Mineral fuels, oils and distillation products.
We all know that these category is on the way out. So, the “new oil” is fish that stands for 9,5 percent of the exports. In other words; this model is fragile.
The biggest trading partner is the United Kingdom with 22 percent export. Second is Germany with 16 percent. Third; Netherlands at 11 percent, France and Sweden with 6,7 percent. Down on the export list we will fine the U.S at 4,7 percent and China with 2,1 percent.
Two of the biggest trading partners are in trouble. United Kingdom with Brexit and Germany near recession. In addition; we have the trade tension between the U.S and China. As you can see; a higher oil price came at the right point for the fund as 62 percent of the exports comes from oil.
Brent climbed as much as 20 percent on Monday and that is the biggest percentage move since 1990 Kuwait invasion. It jumped up to $71 per barrel in the seconds after the open, before pulling back about half of the initial surge. That was equivalent to $12 increase, and that is the largest gain in dollar terms since 1988. All this is good news for Norway that is dependend on oil.
But the Nobel Peace Prize Country need to wake up, because this won`t last forever. Higher oil prices is good but that is not enough. The Petro dollar can also be a game changer in addition to all the electric vehicles that is flooding the market. Every single EV sold will decrease the demand for oil every single day.
Nor is fish enough. Oil is good especially if you are in a cartel business. You don`t have much competition either because oil is very limited in other countries. 70 percent on this planet is water and there are lots of fish in it. Other countries can start to compete in the fish industry whenever they want. Fish is not as unique as oil. Competitors can pop up and take market shares and push the prices down. Like Russia.
Russian aquaculture is planning a new RUB 1,5 billion smolt plant and that will reduce the dependence of Norwegian fry imports. Russian Aquaculture produces around 18,000 tonnes of salmon and trout on the Kola peninsula, the for northwest of Russia. Among the owners of the company are Maksim Vorobyov, the brother of the governor of Moscow.
Russia will triple the production in 11 years. The deputy head of Russia`s Fedral Agency for Fisheries Vasily Solokov has told Tass that the Russian government is drawing up plans to make salmon production account for 37 percent of all aquaculture by 2030.
Some Russian producers are hoping to increase production to cover one third of the country`s entire salmon and trout consumption. A peninsula in northern Russia which is close to key military bases and nuclear submarines is being used to grow the country`s salmon farming regime.
Ket Garden
Shiny bull 