Stocks: Norway's sovereign wealth fund posts billions in losses

Frankfurt. Norway's sovereign wealth fund posted a billion-dollar loss in the third quarter. The world's largest sovereign wealth fund achieved a return of minus 0.5 percent from the beginning of July to the end of September, as the fund manager Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) announced on Thursday. The calculated loss therefore amounted to 278 billion Norwegian crowns (26.5 billion euros).

NBIM is a division of the Central Bank of Norway. The fund invests the Norwegian state's income from oil and gas production. With assets equivalent to $2.3 trillion, he is considered the largest individual investor in the world.

Trond Grande, deputy CEO of NBIM, attributed the slightly negative return to weaker results from bond investments. According to NBIM, the area suffered a loss of 3.5 percent in the third quarter. However, the fund's return was almost unchanged, said Grande.

Yields on the bond market have risen significantly in recent months. Ten-year US government bonds recorded their strongest rise in yields in three decades in the third quarter. In return, this puts a strain on prices. The sovereign wealth fund's stock portfolio, however, recorded a gain of 0.5 percent in the third quarter.