Core sector output contracts to six-mth low of 4.5% in July

New Delhi, August 31

The output of eight core infrastructure sectors contracted to six-month low of 4.5% in July against 9.9% in the year-ago period, according to official data released on Wednesday. The output of these infrastructure sectors expanded by 13.2% in June, 19.3% in May, 9.5% in April, 4.8% in March, 5.9% in February and 4% in January.

The production growth of eight infrastructure sectors — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity — was 11.5% in April-July this fiscal against 21.4% a year ago.

Crude oil and natural gas production contracted by 3.8% and 0.3%, respectively, during the month under review. In July, the fertiliser output rose by 6.2% against 0.6% in the same month last year.

The growth rate in the output of coal, refinery products, steel, cement and electricity slowed down to 11.4%, 6.2%, 5.7%, 2.1% and 2.2%, respectively.

Commenting on the numbers, domestic rating agency Ind-Ra said that the year-on-year growth in the core sector output sharply decelerated to a six-month low of 4.5% in July.

“Ind-Ra believes that the ongoing recovery has still a long way to go because the output of some of the core segments is still lower than the pre-pandemic level,” the agency said. — PTI 

Statistics at a glance

• The output of infrastructure sectors expanded by 13.2% in June, 19.3% in May, 9.5% in April, 4.8% in March, 5.9% in February and 4% in January
• The production growth of eight infrastructure sectors — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity — was 11.5% in April-July this fiscal against 21.4% a year ago
• Crude oil and natural gas production contracted by 3.8% and 0.3%, respectively, during the month under review