The output of eight Indian ‘core infrastructure sectors’, which account for two-fifth of the country’s industrial output, expanded by 0.7 percent in May, the slowest in nine months, according to provisional data released by the ministry of commerce on Tuesday, June 24.
The Index of eight core industries measures the combined and individual output of key industries, which include coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity.
Only three of the eight core industries, refinery products, steel and cement, reported a sequential rise in production during May, the ministry data showed.
Output of refinery products rose by 1.1 percent in May, compared to a 4.5 percent contraction in April. Steel output rose 6.7 percent, up from 4.4 percent in April. Cement production rose 9.2 percent in May, up from 6.3 percent in April.
Production in four sectors, crude oil (-1.8 percent), natural gas (-3.6 percent), fertilisers (-5.9 percent) and electricity (-5.8 percent), contracted in May, according to the ministry data.
