ROME (dpa-AFX) - Italy's surplus in the merchandise trade with countries outside the European Union increased in August as imports declined faster than exports, preliminary data from ISTAT showed on Thursday.
The non-EU foreign trade surplus grew to EUR 3.272 billion from EUR 3.039 billion in the same month last year.
Exports decreased 11.7 percent year-on-year following an 8.1 percent fall in July. Imports dropped 16.4 percent after a 17.5 percent slump in the previous month.
Compared to the previous month, exports fell a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent after a 7.3 percent gain in July. The decline was the first in four months.
Imports grew 5.1 percent monthly, marking the third month of increase.
Excluding energy, the non-EU trade surplus shrunk to EUR 4.882 billion from EUR 6.220 billion in the same month last year.
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