Core Sectors’ Growth Slows Down To 1.8% In January

Growth of eight core sectors slowed down to 1.8 percent in January due to fall in output of crude oil, refinery products and electricity, official data showed.

Eight infrastructure sectors—coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity—had expanded by 6.2 per cent in January 2018.

Core industries’ growth panned out like this:

• Production of crude oil contracted by 4.3 percent
• Refinery production shrank 2.6 percent
• Electricity sector contracted 0.4 percent.
• Coal sector’s growth slowed to 1.7 percent from 3.8 percent in the year-ago period.
• Cement sector’s growth was 8.6 percentage points lower at 11 percent.
• Natural gas output grew by 6.2 percent.
• Fertilisers production grew 10.5 percent.
• Steel output saw a 8.2 percent growth,

Sluggish infrastructure sector growth would also have impact on the Index of Industrial Production as these segments account for about 41 percent of the total factory output.

According to the Commerce and Industry Ministry data, during April-January 2018-19, the eight sectors recorded a growth rate of 4.5 percent against 4.1 percent in the same period of the previous fiscal.