ROME, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Higher energy prices contributed directly to both the increases in the value of imports and exports, while the overall volume of trade declined, data from the Italian government's statistics office (ISTAT) showed on Friday.
Italian exports and imports both grew significantly in value terms in the second quarter of the year, compared to the previous quarter, according to the ISTAT report.
ISTAT said that exports grew by 6.2 percent in the second quarter compared to the first three months of the year, and imports climbed by 11.3 percent over the same period.
Inflation continued to have an impact on economic data. According to ISTAT, the year-on-year inflation rate in Italy was 6.0 percent in April, 6.8 percent in May, and 8.0 percent in June -- more than enough to balance the growth in exports and to account for the bulk of the expansion in imports when measured in volume terms.
The value of refined petroleum products jumped by 99.7 percent so far this year, the data said, while the value of the export of petroleum-based products -- those produced in Italy from imported petroleum -- rose by 100.9 percent. ■