Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma has said the government is hopeful that exports in January will help close the trade gap.He was talking to reporters in Mumbai on Wednesday after inaugurating the 21st NASSCOM India Leadership Forum.Data released by the ministry earlier in the day, showed that exports were up 0.8 percent in January while imports rose 6 percent.The trade deficit in January stood at 20 billion dollars. This is the first time in eight months that exports recorded a growth.Blaming rising oil and gold imports for the widening trade gap, the commerce minister said gold imports are a matter of concern and called for a balanced approach towards gold import duty.Pointing out that there has been an overall contraction in global trade particularly due to the Eurozone crisis which had a larger impact on India's trade balance, the commerce minister said the government is hopeful of reducing the gap in the last quarter.