Italy's current account shortfall decreased significantly from last year in May, helped mainly by a marked increase in merchandise exports, data released by Bank of Italy showed Wednesday.
The current account deficit fell to EUR1.199 billion in May from EUR5.458 billion in the same month last year.
The goods trade account showed a surplus of EUR2.188 billion in May, reversing the EUR1.433 billion deficit recorded a year earlier.
The balance in the services account was a deficit of EUR175 million, down from last year's shortfall of EUR253 million. The deficit in the income account narrowed to EUR2.592 billion in May from EUR3.050 billion in May 2011.
The current transfers account showed a deficit of EUR620 million during the month, which was lower than last year's shortfall of EUR723 million, data showed.
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