Norway yesterday became the first western European country to raise interest rates since the financial crisis as its central bank reported “signs of renewed growth” in the global economy.

昨日，挪威成为金融危机爆发以来首个宣布加息的西欧国家。该国央行报告称，全球经济出现了“恢复增长的迹象”。

The Norges Bank lifted its main rate by 25 basis points to 1.5 per cent and signalled more increases ahead in a move that highlighted the shift towards higher official borrowing costs as the world economy stabilises.

挪威央行(Norges Bank)将基准利率上调25个基点，至1.5%，同时暗示，未来还会做进一步上调。此举凸显出，随着全球经济企稳，官方借贷成本将开始上升。

The decision, which had been widely expected, means three of the world's leading central banks have now embarked on monetary tightening, following rate increases in Israel in August and Australia earlier this month.

人们对这一决定早有普遍预期。这意味着，目前全球已有三家主要央行开始收紧货币政策——以色列和澳大利亚央行分别于8月和本月早些时候宣布上调利率。

Svein Gjedrem, Norges Bank governor, said in a statement: “The global economy is in a deep downturn but there are signs of renewed growth. Activity in the Norwegian economy has picked up more rapidly than expected.”

挪威央行行长斯韦恩·耶德雷姆(Svein Gjedrem)在一份声明中表示：“全球经济正处于深度衰退之中，但已出现了恢复增长的迹象。挪威经济活动的恢复比预期更为迅速。”

The Norwegian government used its oil wealth to shield the country from the worst of the global downturn and is now rebounding more strongly than the rest of Europe after its first recession in two decades.

挪威政府利用其石油财富，保护该国经济免受全球衰退最糟糕的影响，如今，该国经济反弹势头也比欧洲其它国家更为强劲。本轮危机也是该国20年来遭遇的首次衰退。

This has revived long-standing concerns about the risks of inflation and currency appreciation that have befallen other oil and gas-rich nations, a danger that Mr Gjedrem reiterated.

这让人们对通胀和货币升值等风险的长期担忧再度抬头。其它油气资源丰富的国家都面临这类风险，耶德雷姆对此也作了重申。

The monetary tightening process is likely to be slower in countries with more fragile recoveries but other central banks are well advanced in thinking about “exit strategies” to unwind exceptional measures taken to combat the crisis.

对于那些经济复苏相对脆弱的国家而言，收紧货币政策的过程可能会更缓慢一些，但其它国家的央行早就在考虑“退出战略”，以撤消为抵抗危机而采取的非常措施。

India's central bank this week prepared for an interest rate rise early next year.

印度央行本周做出举动，为明年初加息做好准备。

In Australia, a faster-than-expected increase in consumer prices yesterday raised the prospect of a further interest rate rise next week.

在澳大利亚，昨日公布的消费者价格指数增速要快于预期，令下周进一步加息的可能性有所提高。