India's Eight Core Industries Grow 6% In February, The Slowest In Three Months
The index of eight core industries rose 6% year-on-year in February, compared with a rise of 8.9% in January
India's eight core infrastructure industries grew at the slowest pace in three years in February.
The index of eight core industries rose 6% year-on-year in February, compared with a rise of 8.9% in January, according to data released by the government on Friday. On a monthly basis, the index contracted 7.8% in February, compared to a rise of 4% the previous month.
Coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement, and electricity count among the core sectors, comprising 40% of the Index of Industrial Production.
Overall, it appears that the recovery is weak and losing momentum due to the global economic uncertainty, said a research note by Sunil Sinha, principal economist at India Ratings.
Break-Up Across Eight Core Sectors (Year-on-Year)
Coal output rose 8.5% versus 13.4% in January.
Crude oil output fell 4.9% after declining 1.1% last month.
Natural gas output grew 3.2% versus 5.3% a month ago.
Refinery products rose 3.3% as compared with 4.5% in the previous month.
Fertiliser production rose 22.2% as against 17.9% last month.
Steel output rose 6.9% compared with a rise of 10.8% last month.
Cement rose 7.3% as against 4.6% in the previous month.
Electricity output rose 7.6% as compared with a rise of 12.7% in December.
Though the capex by states and the union government would continue to witness strong growth, the spell of unseasonal rains could weigh on the cement and steel sector in March 2023, Sinha said.
The output of coal sector is also expected to be affected by the unusual rains in the same period. The core sector may slow down further to around 4% YoY in March 2023, which would take the annual growth for FY23 to a projected 7.4%, he said.