The seasonally adjusted merchandise trade balance recorded a €0.3 billion deficit in November, down sharply from October's smaller revised €3.1 billion and the smallest shortfall since the first red ink of the current sequence in December 2021.

Exports rebounded a monthly 3.1 percent to €54.9 billion after a 1.0 percent fall in October while imports compounded a previous 4.8 percent slump with a 1.4 percent drop, their third decline in as many months. In fact, exports would have been much stronger but for a 7.4 percent slide in energy. Consumer goods were up 2.3 percent, and capital goods fully 14.1 percent. By contrast, intermediates decreased 1.6 percent. Compared with November 2021, unadjusted exports were up 18.0 percent, now only 2.4 percentage points short of the import rate. As recently as July the gap was more than 24 percentage points due to sharply higher energy costs.

The merchandise trade balance measures the difference between imports and exports of goods. The level of the international trade balance, as well as changes in exports and imports, indicate trends in foreign trade and can offer a guide to an economy's competitiveness.

Changes in the level of imports and exports, along with the difference between the two (the trade balance) are a valuable gauge of economic trends here and abroad. While these trade figures can directly impact all financial markets, they primarily affect currency values in foreign exchange markets.

Separate reports are published for external and internal EU trade. The extra-EU trade data are compiled on the basis of customs declarations with non-EU countries. The intra-EU trade data (Intrastat) are derived from surveys and provide statistics on trade between Italy and other EU member states. The data are available monthly. World trade data are available within one month after the reference month while intra-EU trade data are available within 7 weeks after the reference month.