Norway has become the first European country to raise interest rates since the start of the global financial crisis.
The country's central bank lifted its main rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 1.5%.
Earlier this month, Australia became the first advanced economy to push up rates since the crisis, saying the risk of recession over. The Australian central bank also put up its main rate by 0.25 points to 3.25%.
The world's main central banks have been aggressively cutting interest rates in an effort to boost their recession-hit economies. The European Central Bank's rate currently stands at a record low 1%, while US rates are close to zero.
'Activity in the Norwegian economy has picked up more rapidly than expected,' central bank governor Svein Gjedrem said. Norway, thanks to its oil revenues, did not suffer unduly in a crisis which brought the global economy to a virtual standstill.
