Italy's exports grow by 2% in April, trade surplus rises

Italy's exports in April grew by 2 percent on an annual basis, the National Institute for Statistics (ISTAT) said on Tuesday.
The growth in goods exports was especially due to an increase of sales to European Union (EU) countries, with an overall 5 percent rise compared to April 2013, ISTAT added in its report.
Poland, Czech Republic, and Belgium were the most dynamic markets for Italian exports with a 14.8 percent, 14.5 percent and 8.9 percent annual increase respectively.
ISTAT also noted a 7.1 percent and 5.6 percent rise in sales to Japan and Germany.
The ISTAT report added the annual exports growth was led by sales of clothing, leather good, machinery and equipment, basic metals and fabricated metal products, plus by a 30 percent increase in vehicle sales to the United States.
The outgoing flows grew also on a monthly basis, increasing by 0.4 percent in April 2014 compared to that of March. However, it fell by 0.7 percent over the February-April quarter, with a 1.9 percent drop in sales towards non-EU countries, ISTAT added.
With regards to incoming flows, Italian imports fell by 0.6 percent in April 2014 compared to March and by 2.9 percent on an annual basis. More specifically, imports from EU countries decreased by 2.6 percent and those from non-EU countries by 3.4 percent compared to last year, ISTAT said.
The decline in imports of goods allowed Italy a trade surplus to 3.5 billion euros (4.7 billion U.S. dollars), a sharp rise compared to a 2 billion euros surplus in April last year. In March 2014, however, the surplus was 3.9 billion euros.
The trade surplus reached 1.851 million euros with EU partners and 1.654 million euros with non-EU countries, ISTAT report specified.
Specifically, a positive balance was registered towards France, the United States, Great Britain, Switzerland, and developing Asian countries, while trade with the Netherlands, China, Russia, Germany, and India showed a deficit.