Italy’s current account surplus decreased in July from the previous year, figures from the Bank of Italy showed Friday.

The current account surplus fell to EUR 6.65 billion from EUR 7.63 billion in the corresponding month last year. In June, the surplus was EUR 3.53 billion.

The goods trade surplus shrank to EUR 6.43 billion in July from EUR 7.42 billion a year earlier. Similarly, the surplus on services trade dropped to EUR 1.22 billion from EUR 1.27 billion.

At the same time, the capital account balance turned to a deficit of EUR 95 million in July from a surplus of EUR 195 million in the same month of the prior year. On the other hand, financial account surplus grew markedly to EUR 11.6 billion from EUR 4.27 billion.

During the twelve months ended July, the current account recorded a surplus of EUR 36.2 billion, up from EUR 23.1 billion surplus in the previous twelve months.

The large improvement confirms a trend started in mid-2011, driven by the increase in the merchandise trade surplus, which in July reached EUR 53.4 billion, the bank said.

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