Italy's trade surplus narrowed to €4.8 billion in May 2026 from €6.1 billion a year earlier, though it exceeded market expectations of a €4.5 billion surplus. Exports rose 4.1% year-on-year to €57.4 billion, driven by base metals and metal products, excluding machinery and equipment (26.2%), coke and refined petroleum products (62.0%), transportation equipment, excluding motor vehicles (20.6%), and motor vehicles (13.9%). In contrast, exports of pharmaceutical, chemical-medicinal, and botanical products fell 9.7%. Switzerland remained the largest destination (57.9%), followed by China (24.2%) and the Netherlands (8.6%). Meanwhile, imports increased at a faste pace of 7.3% to €51.6 billion, mainly due to a surge in purchases of crude oil and refined petroleum products, while declines in other goods limited overall growth. Purchases from non-EU markets far outpaced those from EU markets, at 15.5% and 1.3%, respectively. source: National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT)

Italy recorded a trade surplus of 4793 EUR Million in May of 2026. Balance of Trade in Italy averaged 1385.95 EUR Million from 1991 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 9550.66 EUR Million in July of 2020 and a record low of -9558.37 EUR Million in August of 2022. This page provides the latest reported value for - Italy Balance of Trade - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. Italy Balance of Trade - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on July of 2026.

Italy recorded a trade surplus of 4793 EUR Million in May of 2026. Balance of Trade in Italy is expected to be 3150.00 EUR Million by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the Italy Balance of Trade is projected to trend around 4300.00 EUR Million in 2027 and 4500.00 EUR Million in 2028, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-06-15 08:00 AM
Balance of Trade
Apr €4.293B €4.813B €5.19B €3.8B
2026-07-16 09:00 AM
Balance of Trade
May €4.793B €4.421B €4.5B €5.1B
2026-08-11 08:00 AM
Balance of Trade
Jun €4.793B € 3.2B


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Balance of Trade 4793.00 4421.00 EUR Million May 2026
Exports 57412.00 57790.00 EUR Million May 2026
Imports 52619.00 53368.00 EUR Million May 2026
Terms of Trade 102.50 106.90 points May 2026
Tourist Arrivals 9364.60 7378127.00 Persons May 2026


Italy Balance of Trade
Italy consistently records trade surpluses, although soaring energy costs in 2022 inflated the price of purchases and drove the Italian economy to import more than it exports during a short period. Italy’s main exports include base metals, chemicals, transportation equipment, and pharmaceutical goods, while the main imports are machinery and energy. The largest exporting partners are France, Germany, and the United States, while the main importing partners are Germany, France, China, and OPEC nations.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
4793.00 4421.00 9550.66 -9558.37 1991 - 2026 EUR Million Monthly
Current Prices, NSA

News Stream
Italy Trade Surplus Narrows in May
Italy's trade surplus narrowed to €4.8 billion in May 2026 from €6.1 billion a year earlier, though it exceeded market expectations of a €4.5 billion surplus. Exports rose 4.1% year-on-year to €57.4 billion, driven by base metals and metal products, excluding machinery and equipment (26.2%), coke and refined petroleum products (62.0%), transportation equipment, excluding motor vehicles (20.6%), and motor vehicles (13.9%). In contrast, exports of pharmaceutical, chemical-medicinal, and botanical products fell 9.7%. Switzerland remained the largest destination (57.9%), followed by China (24.2%) and the Netherlands (8.6%). Meanwhile, imports increased at a faste pace of 7.3% to €51.6 billion, mainly due to a surge in purchases of crude oil and refined petroleum products, while declines in other goods limited overall growth. Purchases from non-EU markets far outpaced those from EU markets, at 15.5% and 1.3%, respectively.
2026-07-16
Italy Trade Surplus Widens in April
Italy’s trade surplus widened to €4.3 billion in April 2026 from €2.4 billion in the same month a year earlier, although it fell short of market forecasts for a €5.19 billion surplus. Exports increased by 8.8% year-on-year to €57.6 billion, with most sectors contributing to the growth, notably basic metals and fabricated metal products, excluding machinery and equipment (32.9%), coke and refined petroleum products (52.0%), machinery and equipment not classified elsewhere (6.3%), chemical substances and products (10.5%), motor vehicles (16.1%), and electrical equipment (10.4%). Switzerland remained Italy’s largest export market (39.4%), followed by the US (12.1%), China (36.2%), France (7.6%), and Germany (5.0%). Meanwhile, imports rose by 5.5% to €53.3 billion, primarily due to increased purchases of metals and crude oil. Imports from EU and non-EU countries grew by 5.2% and 5.9%, respectively.
2026-06-15
Italy Trade Surplus Steady in March
Italy’s trade surplus remained relatively stable in March 2026 compared to the same month last year, standing at €4.7 billion, but was below market expectations of €5.2 billion. Exports rose by 7.4% year-on-year to €61.7 billion, supported by strong growth in sectors such as basic metals and fabricated metal products, excluding machinery and equipment (38.6%), coke and refined petroleum products (55.0%), motor vehicles (15.8%), computers, electronic and optical equipment (17.5%), pharmaceutical, chemical, medicinal, and botanical products (4.6%), and machinery and equipment, nec (3.3%). Switzerland was the top export destination (84.6%), followed by France (9.2%), Germany (8.0%), Spain (12.6%), and China (23.9%). Meanwhile, imports grew by 8.0% to €57.0 billion, amid increased purchases of metals, motor vehicles, and electronics. Imports from both the EU (8.1%) and non-EU countries (9.1%) went up.
2026-05-18