Norway's Oil Fund Sees Record Returns In Q3

OSLO (AP) — Norway's oil fund posted a record quarterly return of 13.5 percent on investments in the third quarter due to a rebound in international stock markets, the central bank said Tuesday.

Norges Bank said the 325 billion kroner ($58.2 billion) in returns lifted the value of the Government Pension Fund-Global to 2.55 trillion kroner at the end of the July-September quarter. The fund was worth about 2.12 trillion kroner a year earlier.

Norway invests its vast oil wealth in the sovereign wealth fund, commonly known as the oil fund, which it uses to finance its cradle-to-grave welfare system while protecting against inflation.

"The strong upturn in markets in the second quarter continued in the third quarter," said Yngve Slyngstad, chief investment manager at Norges Bank.

The high returns, building on gains of 12.7 percent in the previous quarter, marked a turnaround for the oil fund after it suffered its worst year ever in 2008 — when it lost 23 percent as the financial crisis caused asset prices to nosedive in the final months of that year.