Cordermon (VG) The Norwegian krone is weakening. There is desperation among travelers in Cardermoyan.
- On Tuesday afternoon, the euro passed a milestone and cost NOK 12 at 4 p.m.
- Travelers enjoy holidays abroad more because of poor exchange rates and rising prices for food and drinks.
- Chief economists believe that a weaker krone exchange rate will lead to fewer Norwegians traveling abroad and more tourists coming to Norway.
- Future developments in the krone exchange rate are difficult to predict, but the situation could worsen.
– We did this trip four years ago and it was definitely cheaper. There are cheaper countries to travel to, but now it’s not so cheap, says Monika Svendsgaard from Ørnes to VG.
Along with her husband John Dore, they spent 14 days traveling through Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro.
– Prices have gone up in the countries we have visited. Talking about the current exchange rate, it is also expensive, says John Torre.
Because the devaluation of the krone continues. The Euro is now one of the most expensive positions against the Krone.
On Tuesday afternoon, it passed a milestone, costing NOK 12 at 4 p.m.
– It’s amazing. So we as economists should be careful to say that it is because of things like this. This surprises us all and finding a good explanation is not so easy, answers Eika’s Chief Economist Jan Ludwig Andreasen to questions about the krone exchange rate.
Jack Nielsen, 69, is among the many passengers on board the Gardermon. He’s been at his home in Spain for a month and is tanned and happy until VG’s reporter asks him about the krone exchange rate.
– What can I say, I have to say it’s terrible, replied Nilsen.
– Got a bill for accommodation?
– not yet.
– Are you afraid?
– Yes.
He and the Svendsgård couple say living abroad has become too expensive. Both due to exchange rate and due to price increase.
– We see that the prices of the goods we buy have risen, they are almost Norwegian prices, even in these countries. Both food and drinks are significantly more expensive than they were a few years ago, says John Dore Svendsgaard.
– A small glass of beer, which cost 1.8 euros a year ago, is now up to 3 euros. Then you have to move up, says Jack Nilsson.
This is the first time since March 2020, at the start of the corona pandemic, that the euro has hit 12 Norwegian kroner. Back then, there were restrictions that restricted people’s holidays.
Now the krone exchange rate will do the same, says Harald Magnus Andreasen, chief economist at Sberbank 1 Markets.
– It is clear that a weaker krone exchange rate means less going abroad, and more coming to Norway. We’ve seen this in numbers before, and it works. But Andreasen says it won’t work for people who booked holiday tickets last year or this winter.
Andreassen’s colleague and (later) namesake, Jan Ludvig i Eika, said it was difficult to predict how the krone exchange rate would evolve, but it could get worse.
– With the challenges we have in China, with commodity markets. Then all commodity currencies will face even bigger problems in the future. So it is by no means a given that it is the bottom, says Andreasen.
It’s bad news for a married Svendsgård couple back from vacation:
– Afraid to check online banking?
– We are afraid of the fact that we are going to Denmark for a week in July, says Monika with a light laugh.
– Let’s go home and stock up, John Dore chimes.
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