Italy’s trade surplus widened to €8.24 billion in July 2026, its largest level since July 2020, up from €7.83 billion in July 2025 and far exceeding market expectations of €4.77 billion. Exports rose 4.7% year-on-year to a record €64.55 billion, driven primarily by shipments of basic metals and fabricated metal products, excluding machinery and equipment (+13.8%); coke and refined petroleum products (+27.3%); and sporting goods, games, musical instruments, precious metals, medical instruments, and other products not elsewhere classified (nec) (+15.9%).
Overseas sales to non-EU markets advanced 6.6%, with particularly strong growth in exports to Switzerland (+39.6%), followed by OPEC countries (+26.3%) and China (+27.6%). Exports to the EU increased by 2.8%, led by the Netherlands (+5.0%) and France (+4.2%). Meanwhile, imports rose 4.6% to €56.31 billion.
