India's Core Sector Growth Slows Down In February

The official government data released on Monday showed that the growth of eight core sectors slowed down to 2.1 percent in February from a fall in output of crude oil and refinery products.

In February 2018, the eight infrastructure sectors, that include, coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement, and electricity had expanded by 5.4 percent.

The production of crude oil and refinery products was contracted by 6.1 percent, and 0.8 percent, respectively, in February 2019. Meanwhile, the production of fertilizers, steel, cement, and electricity grew slower at 2.5 percent, 4.9 percent, 8 percent, and 0.7 percent as against 5.2 percent, 5 percent, 23 percent, and 4.6 percent respectively in the same month last year.

However, coal and natural gas output saw a 7.3 percent, and 3.8 percent growth, respectively.

A slow down in infrastructure sector growth will also impact the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) as they account for about 41 percent of the total factory output.

The data released by Commerce and Industry Ministry for the period April 2018 to February 2019 showed that the eight sectors had recorded a flat growth rate of 4.3 percent when compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.