India's trade sector has benefited from an improving global outlook to deliver a strong export performance during February 2017.

Official government data has indicated that exports rose by 17.5 per cent to a value of $24.49 billion (€22.8 billion) during the month, representing a seventh consecutive month of growth and the best export performance in several years.

Imports, meanwhile, were up by 21.8 per cent for February at $33.39 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $8.9 billion, which was a five-month low.

This indicates that Indian exports may be breaking out of a period of prolonged decline, lasting from December 2014 to September 2016, caused by weak global demand and sliding oil prices. However, these trends are starting to turn around, resulting in benefits for Indian traders.

Madan Sabnavis, chief economist of CARE Ratings, said: "The impressive growth comes in the backdrop of a decline in exports during the same period last year. One needs to see a secular trend to arrive at a conclusion that exports have revived in a big way."