Italy’s trade surplus declined notably to a 7-month low in August, data from the statistical office Istat showed Friday.

The trade surplus fell to EUR 1.85 billion from EUR 8.06 billion in July. It was the lowest since January, when the surplus was EUR 232 million.

The annual growth in exports eased sharply to 1 percent from 6.3 percent in the prior month. At the same time, imports climbed 2.1 percent, slower than July’s 4.1 percent increase.

On a monthly basis, exports dropped 3.6 percent and imports decreased 2.6 percent in August.

The trade surplus with EU nations declined to EUR 467 million from EUR 3.05 billion in the prior month. Likewise, the surplus with non-EU countries decreased to EUR 1.38 billion from EUR 5.01 billion.

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