Istat, exports and trade balance grow in May

Istat exports and trade balance grow in May

(Tiper Stock Exchange) – Italy’s trade balance with non-EU27 countries grew in May which is positive for 4,473 million euros (it was -258 million in May 2022). The energy deficit is reduced (-4,828 million) compared to a year before (-8,289 million) ed increases the surplus in the trade of non-energy products from 8,031 million in May 2022 to 9,300 million in May 2023.

In May 2023, for trade with non-EU27 countries, a cyclical increase is estimated for exports (+1.2%) and a decrease for the imports (-4.6%).

? The increase on a monthly basis in exports is due to the higher sales of consumer durables (+7.0%) and non-durables (+3.4%) and intermediate goods (+3.3%); on the other hand, exports of energy (-9.2%) and capital goods (-1.8%) decreased. The cyclical decline in imports is almost entirely explained by the contraction in energy purchases (-17.7%).

In the quarter March-May 2023compared to the previous quarter, exports are reduced by 4.2%; the decrease regards all groupings, excluding capital goods (+3.6%), and is more extensive for energy (-17.8%) and non-durable consumer goods (-9.0%). During the same period, imports decrease by 9.6%; also in this case, the decrease is widespread in all groupings, with the exception of capital goods (+2.3%), and is more marked for energy (-24.4%) and non-durable consumer goods (-5. 1%).

Every year, one registers growth ofthe export by 4.1% (from -4.9% in April), explained by higher sales of capital goods (+16.0%) and non-durable consumer goods (+7.2%). Import records a decline trend of 13.8%, mainly due to the reduction in energy purchases (-42.7%).

There are year-on-year increases in exports towards almost all the main non-EU27 partner countries: the largest concern countries OPEC (+28.8%), China (+14.8%) and Japan (+14.7%). On the other hand, sales to the United States are down (-5.8%). Imports from Russia drop by 86.5% every year. Large decreases – higher than the average of imports from non-EU27 countries – are also seen for purchases from OPEC countries (-24.3%) and MERCOSUR countries (-20.2%). Conversely, imports from Switzerland (+28.7%), India (+13.2%), United States (+7.7%) and Turkey (+4.6%) increased.

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