By Laura Contemori – ROME (Econostream) – Italy’s general government debt fell by €2.9 billion in April from the previous month to €3.155 trillion, reflecting mainly a decline in Treasury cash holdings, the Bank of Italy said on Monday.

Treasury cash holdings declined by €21.6 billion to €42.4 billion during the month, partly offset by the general government borrowing requirement, which amounted to €16.6 billion.

The effects of discounts and premiums on issuance and redemption, the revaluation of inflation-indexed securities and changes in exchange rates together increased debt by €2.1 billion.

By subsector, the decline was attributable to central government debt, which fell by €3.2 billion. Local government debt increased by €0.3 billion, while the debt of social security institutions was broadly unchanged.

The average residual maturity of government debt remained stable at 7.9 years. The share held by the Bank of Italy fell to 17.3% in April from 17.6% in March.

For March, the latest available data showed foreign investors reduced their holdings to 35.2% of outstanding debt from 35.4% a month earlier, while the share held by other domestic residents, mainly households and non-financial corporations, increased to 14.5% from 14.2%.

Tax revenues recorded in the state budget rose 5.0% year-on-year in April to €44.0 billion, an increase of €2.1 billion compared with the same month of 2025.

In the first four months of 2026, tax revenues totaled €173.1 billion, up €3.1 billion, or 1.8%, from the same period of 2025.