In October, the month-on-month drop in exports is due to the drop in sales to non-EU countries, in particular of capital goods; the more marked one of imports is almost entirely explained by the drop in energy purchases, which reflects both a reduction in imported volumes – in particular for gaseous natural gas – and a decrease in prices.
Thus Istat estimates a cyclical downturn for both foreign trade flows, more intense for imports (-5.5%) than for exports (-1.1%). The decrease on a monthly basis in exports is due to the drop in sales to non-EU markets (-4.3%), while exports to the EU area are increasing (+1.7%).
In the August-October 2022 quarter, compared to the previous quarter, exports fell by 0.7%, imports grew by 3.9%.