Norway's crown tumbles 5.5% against the euro due to virus, oil plunge

[OSLO] Norway's currency crumbled a further 5.5% against the euro on Thursday, hurt by a lockdown of businesses to contain the coronavirus outbreak and a plunge in the price of crude oil, the country's top export.

The crown weakened to 13.0167 crowns (S$1.58) at 0612 GMT, a precipitous 32 per cent drop from 9.8379 at the end of 2019, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

The crown's fall has accelerated in the last two days, amounting to "a complete meltdown", brokers Nordea Markets wrote in a note to clients.

"It's hard to fully justify such a move ... at the same time it could well weaken further," Nordea said, adding that the selloff in global markets and weak oil made it hard to predict the crown's next levels.

Benchmark Brent crude futures slumped 13 per cent on Wednesday and are down 50 per cent since the start of March following Saudi Arabia's decision to ramp up output. 

REUTERS