Italy's trade surplus narrowed to 4.8 billion euros in May as both imports and exports increased

⑴ Italy's trade surplus in May narrowed to 4.8 billion euros from 6.1 billion euros in the same period last year, but exceeded market expectations of 4.5 billion euros. ⑵ Exports rose by 4.1% year-over-year to 57.4 billion euros, with strong performance in basic metals and metal products (excluding machinery) (+26.2%), coke and refined petroleum products (+62.0%), transport equipment (excluding automobiles) (+20.6%), and automobiles (+13.9%); exports of pharmaceutical and plant products fell by 9.7%. ⑶ Imports increased by 7.3% to 51.6 billion euros, mainly driven by a surge in purchases of crude oil and refined petroleum products, while declines in other goods limited overall growth; imports from non-EU markets rose by 15.5%, far outpacing the 1.3% growth from EU markets.