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IIP: Industrial Output Rose 3.2% In October

India's factory output in October rose by a similar pace as seen in September.

<div class="paragraphs"><p>(Photographer: Sondeep Shankur/Bloomberg)</p></div>
(Photographer: Sondeep Shankur/Bloomberg)

India's factory output in October rose by a similar pace as seen in September, led by growth in mining and manufacturing of primary goods.

The Index of Industrial Production rose 3.2% over a year earlier compared with an increase of 3.3% in September, as per revised estimates. On a month-on-month basis, the index rose 4.3% in October against a fall of 2.4% in September, as per revised estimates.

29 economists polled by Bloomberg had forecast October IIP growth at 3.7%.

Industrial growth was stable but tepid in October, with the festive season boost being negated by the supply side issues afflicting the auto sector, as well as a higher base, Aditi Nayar, chief economist at ICRA said.

Devendra Pant, chief economist at India Ratings & Research also said that IIP growth has been very fragile and even festive demand was not able to uplift it in October.

Overall industrial output is still below pre-Covid levels, 99.6% of February 2020.
Devendra Pant, Chief Economist, India Ratings & Research

Omicron could be a disruptor in coming months, said Pant, adding that a weak set of IIP numbers could be expected even for the rest of FY22.

Sectoral Estimates

  • Mining output rose 11.4% in October over a year ago. It rose by 15.4% on a monthly basis.

  • Manufacturing output rose 2% in October over last year. Month-on-month it rose by 3.4%.

  • Electricity generation rose 3.1% from an year ago. On a monthly basis, it declined by 0.4%.

Industrial output, as classified by the end-use of goods, showed a decline in some industries while others advanced.

The disaggregated data does not provide convincing signals of the recovery becoming durable and broad-basing further, with capital goods and consumer durables reporting a contraction on an annual basis, Nayar said.

  • Primary goods output rose 9% year-on-year in October and 9.5% over a month ago.

  • Capital goods output declined by 1.1% annually and by 2.4% compared to the previous month.

  • Intermediate goods output rose by 2.1% annually. On a monthly basis it rose 2.4%.

  • Infrastructure and construction goods output rose 5.3% over last year in October. It was 6.4% higher than the previous month.

  • Consumer durables output was 6.1% lower than a year ago. It fell 0.7% over a month ago.

  • Consumer non-durables output was 0.5% higher than a year ago. It rose 1.2% over September.

A contraction of 6.1% for consumer durable and 0.5% growth in consumer non-durable are testimony of weak demand conditions in the economy, Pant said.