NEW DELHI: The growth of the eight core sector industries slowed to 6.7% in February on account of poor performance of some sectors such as fertiliser, according to official data released on Thursday.
However, on a sequential basis, the growth rate is highest in the last three months. The growth of eight core sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity -- was 4.1% in January.
It was 7.4% in February 2023. Cumulatively also, the growth rate in the output of these sectors slowed to 7.7% in April-January this fiscal against 8.2% in April-February 2022-23. The output growth of fertiliser was in the negative zone. The eight core sectors contribute 40.27% to the country’s Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
According to the data, the growth rate in the output of refinery products, steel, and electricity declined in February. However, coal (11.6%), crude oil (7.9 per cent), natural gas (11.3 per cent), and cement (10.2 per cent) production registered healthy growth during the month under review.
Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist, head - Research & Outreach, Icra Ltd, said the core sector growth improved to a three-month high in February.
Three of the eight industries - coal, cement and natural gas - displayed a double-digit expansion. “Given the healthy improvement in the core sector growth, we expect the IIP to record an expansion of 6.0-6.5% in February 2024,” she said.