The Norwegian krone dropped the most in a month against the dollar and was within 0.6 percent of a five-year low as oil ministers meet in Vienna to discuss output levels.

The currency of Europe’s largest crude producer weakened at least 0.8 percent versus all of its 16 major peers as oil prices declined to the lowest in more than four years amid speculation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will refrain from cutting output. The dollar fell against the yen for a third day after data raised concern the U.S. economic recovery has plateaued. The euro weakened for the first time in four days as data showed inflation stagnated in Germany this month.

“The downward pressure on oil prices is weighing on the Norwegian krone,” said Arne Lohmann Rasmussen, chief analyst at Danske Bank A/S in Copenhagen. “It seems OPEC is more relaxed and they won’t do anything, so the foreign-exchange market is looking around at where to play that and you can do that in Norway, it’s an oil currency.”

The Norwegian krone lost 0.9 percent to 6.8964 per dollar at 1:14 p.m. London time after reaching 6.9346 on Nov. 5, the weakest since March 2009. It depreciated 0.8 percent to 8.6052 per euro. The dollar fell 0.2 percent to 117.52 yen. The euro dropped 0.2 percent to $1.2483.

U.S. financial markets are shut for a public holiday.

OPEC will take a “unified position,” according to Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi. West Texas Intermediate crude tumbled 1.9 percent to $72.28 a barrel, falling for a fourth straight day. Brent crude also sank 1.9 percent.

Crude Prices

Crude prices have collapsed this year, stoking deflation concerns, amid the highest U.S. oil output in three decades and signs of slowing demand globally. A Bloomberg News survey showed 20 analysts were evenly divided on whether OPEC will reduce supply to support prices.

The dollar declined as Citigroup Inc.’s Economic Surprise Index for the U.S., which measures whether data have been above or below analysts’ forecasts, fell to 6.2 yesterday, the lowest since Aug. 25, from 16.4 the previous day.

U.S. Labor Department figures yesterday showed the pace of improvement in the labor market may have cooled. Jobless claims increased by 21,000 to 313,000 in the week ended Nov. 22, the highest since early September. A decline to 288,000 was forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of economists.

Orders for U.S. non-military capital goods excluding aircraft fell 1.3 percent for a second month, the Commerce Department said yesterday. Economists projected a 1 percent gain, according to the Bloomberg survey median.

“Softer data and falling U.S. yields have encouraged people to unwind their long dollar positions,” said Jeremy Stretch, head of foreign exchange strategy at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in London. “The primary concern for the dollar was the weight of positioning, so a modest washout will be encouraging.” A long position is a bet that an asset price will advance.

Source: Bloomberg – Norway’s Krone Declines on OPEC as Dollar Falls on Growth Doubt

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