Italy's seasonally adjusted trade surplus contracted to €3.94 billion in March from a revised €4.1 billion in February as growth in imports outpaced that in exports, according to National Institute for Statistics data.
Exports rose 1.2% to €38.21 billion in March, while imports increased 1.9% to €34.28 billion.
Exports to EU countries slipped 1.4% to €21.3 billion, while imports rose 1.7% to €20.6 billion, yielding a trade surplus of €700 million.
Exports to non-EU countries rose 4.6%, while imports edged up 2.1%, resulting in a surplus of €3.24 billion.
For the three months to March, exports and imports both fell by 1.9% compared with the prior three months.
