{
  "id": 14930253,
  "title": "L’oro in Svizzera spinge l’export",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/loro-in-svizzera-spinge-lexport",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-16T10:19:50.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Il Sole 24 Ore",
    "slug": "il-sole-24-ore",
    "url": "https://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/l-oro-svizzera-spinge-l-export-AJVoTdlB"
  },
  "original_language": "it",
  "account": "August was a strong month for markets outside the European Union, but the growth was less pronounced compared to Europe. Italian exports in August showed overall growth of 9%, with extra-EU exports up 16.7% and European exports up a more modest 1.6%. This managed to round off the year-to-date balance, which reached 443 billion, growing 5% compared to the same period last year. However, these macro figures, when analyzed more closely, paint a less exciting picture. There has been progress over the past eight months, mainly driven by unit values (+4.5%), while volumes are practically stagnant. The surge in gold exports to Switzerland is decisive for the growth, which is by far the best market for Italy's made-in Italy products in terms of growth rate. Most of the gold comes from the Arezzo district, which also has the best growth rate in Italy in terms of exports, up by 8 billion, or +75% in the first half of the year. This translates to a near doubling for precious metals (data available up to June, slightly below 20 billion), with a nearly 9 billion increase compared to the first half of 2025. Swiss imports of base metals doubled in August, while the year started with a threefold increase to 13 billion euros. Switzerland generally sees an 41% increase in purchases of Made in Italy products in the first eight months of the year. The pharmaceutical sector, strong overall but boosted by anti-obesity and anti-diabetes products from Eli Lilly in Sesto Fiorentino, is also important for our foreign sales figures. From the first half of 2023 to the first half of 2026, pharmaceutical exports from Florence have tripled to nine billion euros. So, if we look at the performance of individual economic sectors in the first eight months of the year, the balance outside metals is much reduced: almost a total loss for machinery and food, negative for textiles and clothing and furniture, ahead elsewhere, with some recovery for chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The most dynamic sector is that of automobiles, which is progressing in double digits, but in a 2025 year that ends with a nearly seven-point decline. Taking into account the growth in imports, the trade balance in August 2026 is on track (+1.773 million, +1.875 million in the same month in 2025). The energy deficit (-5.152 million) is, however, higher than a year earlier (-3.431 million). On the purchasing side, the rush for cars from Beijing continues, with values in August almost quadrupling to over half a billion in value: in eight months, this has risen to three billion, a 10% increase in this sector compared to the rest of the world.",
  "summary": "Era stato un mese fortemente positivo per i mercati extra-Ue, lo è in misura più limitata rispetto all’Europa. I numeri definitivi dell’export italiano di agosto segnalano una crescita complessiva del...",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}