Norway oil fund shrinks to $297bn
Norway's sovereign wealth fund - the oil fund - shrank by 7.5% to a preliminary figure of Nkr 2.102 trillion ($297.2 billion) in January from the end of December, the central bank's monthly balance sheet showed.
The value fell from Nkr2.273 trillion at the end of December last year, the balance sheet showed.
The fund, also known as the Government Pension Fund-- Global, invests Norway's oil and gas wealth in foreign stocks and bonds to save for future generations.
The fund said it is Europe's biggest equity investor with more than 1% of European stocks.
The central bank's monthly balance sheet gives a first glimpse of the size of the fund ahead of official quarterly figures on the fund's performance.
The fund's fourth-quarter and full-year 2008 results are scheduled to be published on 11 March, a Reuters report said.