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The oil fund returned 2.1% in the third quarter.
This corresponds to NOK 174 billion, according to Norges Bank Investment Management, which is the part of the central bank that manages the fund.
Rising stocks in the US were the main reason for the return to the third quarter, while developments were weaker in the rest of the world, according to NBIM director Yngve Slyngstad.
The fund's US stocks fell 7% during the quarter, while European equities returned 0.7% and Asian and Pacific equities returned 0.4%.
"The varying trend is partly due to differing expectations about future economic growth and the uncertainty associated with the effects of increased trade barriers," Slyngstad said.
Equity investments returned 3.1% during the quarter, while interest income was down 0.3% and real estate returned 1.9%.
At the end of the quarter, 67.6% of the fund was invested in equities, 29.7% in fixed income securities and 2.7% in real estate.
The krona strengthened against the major currencies in the third quarter, which resulted in a decline in the fund's value of NOK 46 billion during the quarter, according to NBIM.
The government saved $ 12 billion in the fund in the quarter after spending money in recent years. Now, rising oil prices are allowing the government to put money into the fund.
Read more: US tech giants helped oil fund in the previous quarter
The oil fund went well in the second quarter
Great values
The fund is invested in more than 9,000 companies and holds approximately 1.4% of the total value of the global market.
Not fallen since 2002:
Until now, the value of the oil fund has hardly fallen in a single year since its inception in 1996.
The value of the fund has increased every year except in 2002, when it dropped by four billion.
Even in times of global stock markets – as in 2008, when the fund's return was minus 633 billion NOK – the total value of the fund has increased.
The reason was that the government had high oil revenues and deposited NOK 384 billion into the fund. Most importantly, the crown has weakened, increasing the value of the fund by NOK 506 billion.
Thus, the fund has increased by 250 billion, despite the worst year of its history.
The fund was worth NOK 8,488 billion in the new year, but its value changed a lot in 2018, partly because of market turbulence.
The value of the fund depends on the evolution of the stock market, the fixed income and real estate market, as well as the value of the crown and the fact that the government withdraws or deposits money. .
Thus, the value of the fund was at the end of the first three quarters of the year:
Apple contributed the most
Among the different types of stocks, financial stocks, industrial stocks and technology stocks were the best in the third quarter.
The actions that contributed the most to the quarterly results were Apple, Amazon and Microsoft.
The Chinese companies Tencent, Facebook and the pharmaceutical company Bayer AG contributed the most to the result.
Falled in October
The value of the oil fund fell sharply in October and currently stands at around 8,100 billion NOK, according to the unofficial counterpart of the fund.
The government expects the fund to reach NOK 8,700 billion by the beginning of next year. Without a sharp increase in the value of the fund, the use of government money by oil will approach the self-imposed ceiling of three percent of the fund's value each year.
It is in April 2017 that the value of the oil fund exceeded for the first time 8,000 billion NOK, after many years of strong growth due to the strength of the stock markets and a weakening of the krona.
The fall of the fourth quarter of 2018 is probably due to the fall in the stock markets, as well as the strengthening of the crown, which contributes to weakening the value of the fund measured in Norwegian kroner, as dollar-denominated foreign assets, by example, and in euros can then buy less.
Stricter control requirements
The oil fund also imposes stricter requirements on the boards of directors of the companies in which the fund holds shares.
It appears in three notes published Friday.
The oil fund wants to have at least two independent board members with knowledge of the industry in the boards of directors of companies. This will allow them to ask the right questions.
The fund also wants board members to sit on up to five boards of directors in order to have enough time to properly manage their role as elected shareholder representatives in the corporation.
The fund also makes it clear that it wants to distinguish the role of chairman of the board and chief executive officer in the companies where it invests. The fund has previously voted to distinguish this role in a number of companies.
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