Italian official trade deficit shrinks 64 percent in 2009

Italy's trade deficit in 2009 shrank by 64 percent from the 2008 level to 4.1 billion euros, official figures showed Monday. In 2008, the trade deficit was 11.5 billion euros (15.6 billion dollars). Italian exports shrank by 20.7 percent while imports were down 22 percent in 2009, the statistics agency ISTAT said in a statement.
The December trade deficit was 123 million euros compared with 415 million euros a year earlier. Exports to European Union countries grew for the first time in 14 months in December, by 1.4 percent, while imports were up 9.1 percent. Over the year, exports to EU countries shrank by 22.5 percent, while imports were down 17.8 percent, for a deficit of 1.8 billion euros in 2009 compared with a surplus of 9.9 billion euros in 2008.