Italy Trade Surplus Widens Less than Expected

Italy’s trade surplus widened to €5.08 billion in November 2025, up from €3.39 billion a year earlier, slightly below market expectations of €5.2 billion. Exports edged 0.1% lower, weighed down by sharp declines in other manufacturing (-19.7%), refining (-31.3%), electronics (-12.1%), other transportation (-8.2%), and chemicals (-2.5%), partly offset by gains in metals (17.0%), pharmaceuticals (6.1%), machinery (3.2%), and motor vehicles (9.1%). Exports fell to major partners including Turkey (-40.5%), the UK (-16.2%), ASEAN (-21.5%), the US (-2.9%), and the Netherlands (-9.7%), while rising to OPEC (18.9%), Switzerland (12.2%), and Belgium (9.4%). Imports fell 3.5%, driven by lower purchases of pharmaceuticals (-25.6%), crude oil (-39.5%), and natural gas (-17.3%), with declines from OPEC (-34.6%), Belgium (-11.0%), the US (-8.2%), Switzerland (-14.1%), and China (-4.2%).

Italy’s trade surplus narrowed to EUR 4.16 billion in October 2025 from the EUR 4.62 billion in the same month a year earlier, but it was above market expectations of EUR 3.22 billion, with exports growing less than imports. Exports increased by 2.3% year-on-year to EUR 58.56 billion, supported by higher sales to both EU (+0.5%) and non-EU (+4.1%) markets. The sectors contributing most to the growth were pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemicals, and botanicals (+18.5%) and basic metals and fabricated metal products, excluding machinery and equipment (+13.7%). Among key trading partners, exports grew mostly to Switzerland (+34.9%), the United States (+9.7%), OPEC countries (+15.8%), Spain (+7.3%), and France (+3.7%). Meanwhile, imports rose faster at 3.4% to EUR 54.41 billion, with purchases from non-EU (+4.2%) rising more than EU markets (+2.7%). From January to October, the country’s trade surplus stood at EUR 39.6 billion, largely unchanged from EUR 39.8 billion the same period in 2024.

Italy posted a trade surplus of €2.85 billion in September 2025, below market expectations of €3.2 billion, but widening from the €2.32 billion surplus in the same month a year earlier, as export growth outpaced imports. Exports increased by 10.5% year-on-year to €55.79 billion, supported by strong sales to both EU (+10.2%) and non-EU (+10.9%) markets. The sectors contributing most to the growth were pharmaceuticals, chemical-medicinal products, and botanicals (+39.4%), basic metals and fabricated metal products, excluding machinery and equipment (+19.0%), transportation equipment, excluding motor vehicles (+29.6%), machinery and equipment n.e.c. (+7.1%), and food, beverages, and tobacco (+6.9%). Among key trading partners, exports grew most to the US (+34.7%), followed by France (+19.5%) and Spain (+14.7%). Meanwhile, imports rose by 9.9% to €52.94 billion, with purchases from non-EU markets (+13.7%) rising more sharply than those from the EU (+7.2%).