The case in summary Ragnhild Stensholt (55) from Porsgrunn is struggling financially after buying a home with a municipal loan. She has been disabled since 2012, and now has NOK 11 left in her account until the next social security payment. She fears the announced increase in interest rates from Norges Bank in December and has to pick up food from the City Mission. Chief economist Kari Due-Andresen believes that the high price increase will probably force Norges Bank to raise interest rates in December. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – I pay NOK 6,000 in common expenses, and the interest rate increases have meant that my loan has increased by over NOK 500 a month in this half year. I am paying NOK 3,800 in loans, and there are rumors that the joint costs will rise by a thousand. In addition, the 55-year-old must pay for electricity, insurance, food, medicine and transport. She is paid 20,000 to cover expenses every month. – Every month I sit and wonder if I can afford to live here. Ragnhild has been disabled since 2012 and at Easter time this year she got a municipal loan to buy her own home. – I have never been as broke as I am now. I have NOK 11 left in my account until next Friday. Then comes the social security. Have to pick up food from the city mission Prices have risen by 4 per cent in the last 12 months. This is shown by the consumer price index presented by Statistics Norway today. This is up from 3.3 per cent in September. The increase is 0.7 percentage points. Core inflation increased from 5.7 to 6 per cent. This is probably a figure that leans against Norges Bank raising interest rates in December. The 55-year-old from Porsgrunn fears the announced rate hike from Norges Bank in December. – The way it is now, I have almost no food in the fridge. I have to queue for food at the City Mission. She says it feels degrading and painful to have to take that step, and can’t bear to think about another increase in rent. – I simply try to push away the idea of an interest rate hike in December. There is no life to be like this. I get up in the morning, try to make the day go in the best possible way. Then I go to bed and hope that tomorrow can be a little better, she says. Ragnhild checks the online bank and sees that there is only NOK 11 left in the account before the social security benefits arrive. Photo: Theodor Aasland Valen / news – Hard in a pinch Chief economist at Akershus Eiendom, Kari Due-Andresen also believes that the figures for price growth in October are higher than what was expected after the September figures came out. – The inflation figures that Norges Bank manages are back on the central bank’s forecast. It is now most likely that there will be an interest rate hike in December. There was some doubt after the September figures came in, says Due-Andresen. Kari Due-Andresen believes that the high rate of inflation will force Norges Bank to raise interest rates in December. Photo: Handelsbanken Norge – How does this affect the central bank’s reputation? – If the central bank does not manage to reduce price inflation now, inflation management has turned out not to be as excellent as one might have thought. Norges Bank may now have to be quite tough in the pinch. Due-Andresen says she thinks they are willing to sacrifice jobs in order to be sure of bringing down the price increase. Norges Bank will not comment on the allegations. This is something we will come back to at the next press conference with the interest rate decision on 14 December, writes press manager at Norges Bank, Bård Ove Molberg in an e-mail to news. Light in the tunnel Back in the apartment in Porsgrunn, Ragnhild sits and looks at the online bank and counts the days until the social security comes. Despite NOK 11 left in the account, and that life feels tough, Ragnhild sees hope. – I was born a warrior, and I want to be. I don’t give in to dry muck. Someone has to speak up for all of us, and I do. At the same time, I get to hope and believe in a better life for myself too. The bright spot in everyday life is the dog Teddy. Ragnhild is the foster mother of the two-year-old little wild crab. Photo: Theodor Aasland Valen / news Hello, Thank you for reading. Do you have tips or input for this matter or other things we should write about? Feel free to send me an email!
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