Italy reported on Monday a trade deficit of 1.6 billion euros ($2.1 billion) for January, sharply smaller than a 4.6 billion euro deficit 12 months before.The January figures combine a 2.3 billion deficit in trade with countries outside the EU and a 700 million euros surplus with EU partners, the national statistics office ISTAT said.Exports went up by 1.4 percentage points in January from December — mainly due to non-EU markets — while imports grew by 0.4 percent.On a 12-month comparison, exports were up 8.7 percent and imports dropped by 1.8 percent.