Foreign trade and import prices

Istat presents data on Italy’s foreign trade as well as unit value and volume indices (base year 2010=100) referring to April 2016. The results of the flash estimates on extra-EU trade for April 2016 were disseminated on May 25.

• In April 2016 seasonally-adjusted data, compared to March 2016, increased by 2.7% for outgoing flows and by 3.9% for incoming flows. Exports grew by 1.8% for EU countries and by 3.9% for non EU countries. Imports increased for both: +3.4% for European countries and +4.7% for non EU countries. During the quarter February-April 2016, seasonally-adjusted data, in comparison with the previous quarter, exports are stationary and imports decreased by 1.1%.
• In April 2016, compared with the same month of the previous year, exports and imports decreased respectively by 1.0% and by 4.3%. Outgoing flows increased by 1.2% for EU countries while decreased by 3.6% for non EU countries. Incoming flows increased by 2.2 for EU area and fell by 13.0% for non EU area. The trade balance in September amounted to +4,5 billion Euros (+918 million Euros for EU area and +3,602 million Euros for non EU countries).

The import price index measures the evolution of prices for industrial products bought by industrial and commercial enterprises in Italy, both in the euro zone and the non-euro zone. Since March 2010 indices are compiled in the reference base 2010.

In April 2016 the total import price index increased by 0.2% with respect to the previous month (the index decreased by 0.2% in the euro zone and increased by 0.4% for the non-euro zone); the total twelve-month rate of change decreased by 6.5% (respectively decreased by 2.0% for the euro zone and by 10.0% for the non-euro zone).

The quarterly total index decreased by 1.5% compared with the previous period, by 1.0% for the euro zone and by 2.1% for the non-euro zone.