In November, the Italian trade balance recorded a surplus of 2,4 billion: +1,9 billion in non-EU countries and +0,5 billion in the Union. This was communicated by Istat, specifying that in the first eleven months of the year the overall balance, supported by the large surplus in the trade of non-energy products (+67,2 billion), was positive for 8,9 billion.
The result was the fruit of exports up 3,6% year-on-year and by cheap imports a marked decrease (-8,2%). On a monthly basis, however, exports marked a slight increase (+0,4%), while there was still a decrease in imports (-2,2%).
The cyclical growth of exports was supported by the increase in sales on non-EU markets (+0,9%), while those to the EU area decreased slightly (-0,1%). The expansion was driven by the sales of consumer goods, with a significant increase for durable goods (+6,6%). Instrumental and intermediate goods are down.
The cyclical decrease in imports is more pronounced for non-EU countries (-3,7%) than for EU countries (-0,9%). The purchases of energy products (-5,0%), capital goods (-4,9%) and durable consumer goods (-3,6%) are down sharply.
Compared to November 2011, the increase in exports is particularly marked towards Opec countries (+33,0%) and ASEAN countries (+29,3%). The expansion of the sales of refined petroleum products (+42,5%) and of sporting goods, games and jewels (+16,2%) is significant. Overall imports decreased despite the strong increase in purchases from Belgium (+21,7%) and from Opec countries (+10,3%).
Imports from Mercosur countries (-39,9%), Japan (-39,5%) and the United States (-31,3%) dropped sharply. The increase in sales of refined petroleum products to France and the Opec countries contributes by more than one percentage point to the trend increase in exports.
