NEW DELHI: Industrial output growth slowed to a six-month low of 2.9% in February, down from 5% in the previous year, amid growing concerns over the impact of the ongoing tariff war on economic growth. The decline was largely attributed to a high base effect, with the growth rate in February last year recorded at 5.6%. The slowdown was evident across two major categories, mining and manufacturing, with mining experiencing the most significant decline.
Mining output growth declined to 1.6% in February compared to 4.4% in January and 8.1% in February last year.
Manufacturing output growth also halved to 2.9% in February from 5.8% in January. Electricity generation, however, maintained the momentum with 3.6% growth compared to 2.4% in January.
According to Aditi Nayar, chief economist, ICRA, while the growth performance of mining is expected to deteriorate in March 2025 relative to February 2025, it is likely to be offset by an uptick in electricity generation, amid steady manufacturing growth.In use-based categories, consumer non-durables output shrank by 2.1% against a contraction of 0.3% witnessed in the previous month. This is the third month in a row when consumer non-durables output was in the negative territory. Intermediaries goods production growth showed sharpest dip to 1.5% in February versus 5.3% in January. Consumer durables rose by 3.8% in February.