Monthly Report on Italian Economy

In the second quarter of 2015, the balance of trade was characterized by a higher increase of imports (+2.2%) compared to the exports (+1.2%) because of a slowdown of the extra-UE sales associated to an upsurge of extra-UE purchases. In August, business confidence decreased slightly in manufacturing driven by the dynamics of the intermediate goods sector, but improved in the services sector. Quarterly turnover indicators confirm a positive trend in services mostly driven by wholesale and trade.