NORWAY CENTRAL BANK SELLS CROWNS TO EASE PRESSURE
Norway's central bank sold crowns in the
open market in a bid to ease strong upward pressure on the
currency, which threatens to rise above set levels in a basket
of currencies, dealers said.
    The central bank declined comment, but dealers noted the
bank had also intervened and sold small amounts of crowns on
Friday. The bank is committed to defending the crown at certain
levels in a basket of 14 trade-weighted currencies.
    "They've been in again this morning, selling piecemeal
whenever they think necessary," a senior dealer at an Oslo bank,
who declined to be identified, told Reuters.
    The crown's index is currently around 109.60 in the basket
-- close to its upper limit of 109.50 which the central bank is
committed to defending.
    A low index figure indicates a high value for the crown.
The limit at the other end of the scale is set at 114.50.
    The crown has been bolstered by high Norwegian interest
rates, currently around 16 pct in the money market, and better
than expected economic indicators which showed a sharply
reduced foreign trade deficit in May and inflation stabilising
around the current annual rate of 10 pct.
 REUTER
