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 February 2017.

• In February 2017 seasonally-adjusted data, compared to January 2017, decreased by 2.0% for outgoing flows while increased by 1.3% for incoming flows. The decrease of exports is the result of an increase for EU countries (+0.3%) and a decrease for non EU countries (-4.7%). The increase of imports is the result of an increase for EU countries (+2.5%) and a drop for non EU countries (-0.4%). Over the last three months, seasonally-adjusted data, in comparison with the previous three months, showed a growth of 3.7% for exports and of 5.6% for imports.

• In February 2017, compared with the same month of the previous year, exports and imports increased (+2.3% and +9.1% respectively). Outgoing flows increased by 1.3% for EU countries and by 3.6% for non EU countries. Incoming flows
  increased by 7.3% for EU area and by 11.9% for non EU area. The trade balance in February amounted to +1.9 billion Euros (+0.2 billion Euros for EU area and +1,7 billion 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 February 2017 the total import price index increased by 0.4 % compared to the previous month (the index increased by 0.4% for the euro zone and by 0.5% for the non-euro zone); the total twelve-month rate of change increased by 5.7% (respectively increased by 1.4% for the euro zone and by 9.5% for the non-euro zone).

The quarterly total index increased by 2.2% compared with the previous period, by 0.3% for the euro zone and by 3.7% for the non-euro zone.