Norges Bank on Wednesday cut its key rate by half a point to an all-time low of 1.5% on signs that the global recession was having an adverse impact on the domestic economy.

"New information has confirmed that the current global economic downturn is the deepest in the post-war period. If anything, developments have been weaker than expected, but there are also some signs of improvement. In order to mitigate the impact on the Norwegian economy, it is appropriate to reduce the key policy rate