Italy’s trade surplus narrowed to €4.23 billion in June 2026, down from €5.38 billion in June 2025 and below market expectations of €4.74 billion. Imports jumped 13.2% year-on-year to €55.5 billion, driven primarily by a 12.1% increase in manufacturing. Within manufacturing, there were particularly strong gains in basic metals and fabricated metal products excluding machinery (+32.2%), transport equipment (+10.1%), and chemicals (+10.5%). Import growth was stronger from non-EU countries (+18.7%) than from EU partners (+9.1%), with Germany leading the EU increase (+14.1%).
Exports rose 9.8% to €59.8 billion, with gains spread across most sectors. The strongest growth was recorded in coke and refined petroleum products (+45.1%), base metals and fabricated metal products (+25.8%), motor vehicles (+17.0%), and transport equipment excluding motor vehicles (+13.3%). By destination, shipments increased most to Germany (+22.9%), followed by the Netherlands (+22.4%) and France (+6.8%), while exports to the UK declined by 8.5%.
Over the first half of 2026, Italy’s cumulative trade surplus widened to €24.5 billion, compared with €22.8 billion in the same period of the previous year.
