Norway plans to draw $63.6 billion from the oil fund in 2027
The 2027 budget bill proposes spending 608.4 billion crowns from the sovereign wealth fund, up from this year, as the minority government braces for a budget fight in parliament.
OSLO: Norway's minority Labour government proposed on Wednesday to withdraw 608.4 billion Norwegian crowns ($63.61 billion) from the country's $2.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund in 2027, up from a revised 583.4 billion crowns in 2026, to help cover public expenses, according to Reuters.
The proposal is part of the government's 2027 budget bill, unveiled on Wednesday. Measured in fixed 2027 prices, spending from the fund would rise by 4.9 billion crowns, or $513 million, compared with 2026, the government said, according to OilPrice. The planned drawdown equals 2.7 percent of the fund's projected value at the end of 2026, in line with the current year.
The bill must now be negotiated with four centrist and left-wing parties to pass the Storting, Reuters reported, since Labour governs in a minority.
The government said the budget proposal is estimated to have a neutral effect on activity in the economy next year.
The budget assumes the economy outside the oil industry will grow by 1.1 percent this year, down from 1.7 percent expected in May, and by 1.7 percent in 2027, slightly up from the 1.6 percent previously forecast, Reuters reported. Core inflation is seen at 3.1 percent this year, down from 3.2 percent seen in May, easing to 2.8 percent in 2027 against 2.6 percent previously expected.
The structural non-oil deficit for 2027, the key measure of how much oil-fund money the government spends, is expected to be 2.7 percent of the fund's projected value at the end of 2026, the same level as this year, according to Reuters.
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