Spain's exports rose by 2.8 percent in February compared with the same month a year earlier, according to data published Tuesday by Spain's economics newspaper Expansion.

Citing sources from the Secretary of State for Trade, the newspaper said that exports reached 19.859 billion euros (21.370 billion U.S. dollars) in February, while in the first two months of the year they reached 37.754 billion euros, boosted by the automobile sector whose exports rose by 18.7 percent year-on-year.

On the other hand, imports increased slightly to 42.387 billion euros leading to a trade deficit of 4.633 billion euros, 4.3 percent more in comparison with a year earlier.

In the first two months of 2015, Spanish exports shipped mostly to EU-countries increasing by 2.7 percent year-on-year, while those to the euro zone countries increased by 2.9 percent.

The newspaper highlighted the important role played by European countries in Spanish exports despite attempts carried out by Spain to diversify its foreign market.

Purchases from Asia, Africa and Latin America decreased, falling by 3.2 percent in Asian countries, by 7.2 percent in Africa (especially in the neighboring country Morocco where they fell by 2.7 percent) and by 8.9 percent in Latin America.

Among Asian countries, Spanish exports fell by 11.9 percent in China, by 11 percent in Japan and by 40 percent in Singapore. On the contrary, they increased by 48 percent in Indonesia and by 28.7 percent in South Korea.

Spanish exports, which play a key role for the country's economic recovery, have showed signs of recovery as export prices increased 0.4 percent in February year-on-year, the first rise in prices since February 2013.