Eight core sectors' growth slows to 2.1% in July

Growth of eight core industries dropped to 2.1 % in July mainly due to a contraction in coal, crude oil, natural gas, and refinery products, according to official data released on Monday (September 2).

The eight core sector industries – coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement, and electricity – had expanded by 7.3% in July last year. These core industries comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

The output of coal, crude oil, natural gas, and refinery products recorded negative growth during the month under review. Similarly, the growth rate in production of steel, cement, and electricity declined to 6.6%, 7.9%, and 4.2%, respectively, as against 6.9%, 11.2%, and 6.7%.

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However, fertilizer output marginally grew by 1.5% in July as against 1.3% in July 2018. For the April-July period, the eight sectors’ growth rate almost halved to 3% as compared to 5.9% in the same period last year.

The growth rate of these eight sectors is declining since April this year. It slowed down to 5.2% in April from 5.8%. Then it came down to 4.3% in May and 0.7% in June.

The GDP data too has shown deceleration with the growth rate coming down to over six-year low of 5% in the first quarter of the current fiscal, mainly on account of the sharp dip in the manufacturing sector, which registered almost a flat growth of 0.6%.