Return of 2.9 per cent on the Petroleum Fund in the first quarter
The return on the Government Petroleum Fund in the first quarter of 2004 was 2.9 per cent measured in terms of the currency basket that corresponds to the composition of the Fund's benchmark portfolio. There was an upswing in all three global equity markets, and the return on the equity portfolio was 3.8 per cent. The return on the fixed income portfolio was 2.2 per cent.
In the first quarter of 2004, the Petroleum Fund's ordinary portfolio outperformed the benchmark portfolio defined by the Ministry of Finance by 0.24 percentage point.
The return on the Environmental Fund in the first quarter was 4.1 per cent measured in terms of the benchmark portfolio's currency basket.
The market value of the Petroleum Fund's combined securities portfolio was NOK 915.3 billion at the end of the first quarter. This is an increase of NOK 70 billion during the quarter. The increase since the beginning of the year is due partly to the transfer of new capital (NOK 22 billion), partly to the return in capital markets (NOK 26 billion) and partly to the depreciation of the krone (NOK 22 billion). However, the change in the krone exchange rate has no effect on the Fund's international purchasing power.
For further information, please contact:
Knut N. Kjær, Executive Director, Norges Bank Investment Management, tel. +47 22 31 60 00.
The quarterly report is available on www.nbim.no.
Contact:
Press telephone: +47 21 49 09 30
Email: presse@norges-bank.no