Italy's external trade deficit halves in October

(ROME) - Italy's trade deficit with countries outside the European Union fell by almost half in November to 1.2 billion euros ($1.6 billion) from 2.1 billion euros in November 2010, new data showed on Thursday.

The Istat data agency said exports had risen by 11.2 percent and imports by 3.9 percent over the 12-month period. Excluding energy imports, Italy actually had a trade surplus with countries outside the European Union.

The eurozone's third-biggest economy, Italy has been weighed down by a debilitating debt crisis this year setting off alarm bells around the world because of its high-debt, low-growth and record borrowing costs.