Cookies

By clicking "Allow All", you agree to the use of cookies to enhance website functionality, analyse website usage and assist with marketing.

More on cookies

Iceland­ic Eco­nom­ic Weekly: 22 Septem­ber 2022

Both the number of visitors to Iceland via Keflavík Airport andunemployment numbers are back to pre-pandemic levels.
12 September 2022 - Landsbankinn

Last week’s highlights

The number of foreign passengers to Iceland via Keflavík Airport, published last week, indicates that the tourism industry has returned to pre-pandemic levels. Almost 243,000 foreign passengers left Iceland via Keflavík Airport in August, which is 3% fewer than in August 2019, the year before the pandemic hit. This is the second month in a row that the number is close to the same month in 2019.

Registered unemployment was 3.1% in August, 1.4 percentage points lower than in August 2021. Unemployment is now roughly at pre-pandemic levels.

The Central Bank of Iceland published the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee 22-23 August. All five committee members agreed that the CBI’s key rate should be raised further and an increase in the range of 0.5-1.0 percentage points was discussed. All members voted in favour of a 0.75 pp increase, although one member would have preferred to raise rates by 1 pp. The CBI’s key rate (the seven-day term deposit rate) is 5.5% after the increase.

The week ahead

On Wednesday, the CBI releases payment intermediation data.

Markets and Economic Overview

Icelandic Economic Weekly 12 September 2022 (PDF)

You may also be interested in
2 May 2025
Mánaðamót May 2025
Monthly newsletter of current economic affairs in Iceland.
9 April 2025
Economic forecast to 2027: Fair outlook yet anything may happen 
Landsbankinn Economic Research forecasts 1.4% economic growth this year and 2.1% next year. The economy has cooled down following a robust period of growth in the years after the pandemic and we now anticipate a slow start.  
1 April 2025
Economic Research Monthly Newsletter - April 2025
Monthly statistics analysis and an overview of current economic affairs in Iceland.
3 March 2025
Economic Research Monthly Newsletter - March 2025
Monthly statistics analysis and an overview of current economic affairs in Iceland.
3 Feb. 2025
Economic Research Monthly Newsletter - February 2025
Monthly statistics analysis and an overview of current economic affairs in Iceland.
7 Jan. 2025
Economic Research Monthly Newsletter - January 2025
Monthly statistics analysis and an overview of current economic affairs in Iceland.
3 Dec. 2024
Economic Research Monthly Newsletter - December 2024
Monthly statistics analysis and an overview of current economic affairs in Iceland.
6 Nov. 2024
Economic Research Monthly Newsletter - November 2024
Monthly statistics analysis and an overview of current economic affairs in Iceland.
21 Oct. 2024
Weekly Bulletin 21 October 2024
Last week, we published an economic forecast to the year 2027. The housing price and rental price indexes decreased more between months in September and household payment card turnover contracted between years domestically while rising abroad. The Central Bank of Iceland (CBI) published the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, which shows that all Committee members agreed to lower the policy rate. Several companies publish financial results this week.
Hagspá Landsbankans
15 Oct. 2024
Economic forecast 2024-2027: The Economy Catches its Breath 
Landsbankinn Economic Research forecasts a status quo in the economy between years and a 0.1% contraction in GDP. Setbacks affected the export sector in the first half of the year, with capelin catch failure and slower growth in the travel sector causing a contraction. This has been compounded by the cooling impact of high interest rates on demand, which nevertheless remains strong.