ROME - Italy in July registered the biggest foreign trade surplus since July 1998, national statistics agency Istat said on Monday.

The recorded surplus was of 4.5 billion euros ($5.8 billion), including a 2.7-billion-euro increase in European countries and a 1.8-billion-euro growth in non-EU countries.

Istat noted that the surplus was over 2 billion euros higher than in July of last year.

According to local experts, the record-high figure was a consequence of the recession hampering domestic demand and reducing imports.

The value of Italy's economy has fallen for four consecutive quarters, partly due to harsh austerity policies introduced by Prime Minister Mario Monti and his cabinet of technocrats to cut the deficit and lower borrowing costs.

Leading industrial association Confindustria recently estimated the national economy would shrink by 2.4 percent this year and drop by 0.6 percent in 2013.