Italy's foreign trade balance turned to a surplus in September from a deficit in the previous year as imports fell faster than exports, data from the statistical office Istat showed on Thursday.
The trade balance for September came in at a surplus of EUR 2.34 billion versus a deficit of EUR 6.69 billion in the corresponding month last year. In August, there was a surplus of EUR 1.95 billion.
Exports fell 6.6 percent annually in September after a 2.2 percent rebound in August. Outgoing flows to non-EU countries decreased by 6.9 percent, and those to EU countries dropped by 6.3 percent.
Meanwhile, imports tumbled 20.5 percent annually in September, slightly slower than the 21.0 percent fall in the prior month.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, both exports and imports slid by 4.5 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively, in September from a month ago. As a result, the trade surplus shrank to EUR 3.28 billion from EUR 4.17 billion in August.
