Italy Trade Surplus Grows In July

(RTTNews) - Italy's trade surplus increased in July as exports grew faster than imports, monthly data from the statistical office ISTAT showed on Monday.

The trade surplus rose to EUR 7.91 billion in July from EUR 6.82 billion in the same period last year. The surplus totaled EUR 5.38 billion in June.

Exports increased 7.3 percent from the previous year, faster than the 4.9 percent growth in June. Imports gained 6.1 percent versus a 4.9 percent rise in the prior month.

Among sectors, exports of transportation equipment, excluding motor vehicles, grew the most, by 45.6 percent, followed by pharmaceuticals, chemical-medicinal products, and botanicals, with an increase of 28.5 percent.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the trade surplus rose to EUR 4.64 billion in July from EUR 4.32 billion in June. Both exports and imports increased by 1.2 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.