Core sector output shrinks 4 mth in a row

New Delhi: Showing no signs of improvement, the output of eight core infrastructure industries contracted for the fourth consecutive month in November by 1.5 per cent, according to official data released on Tuesday.

Since August, the eight core industries are recording negative growth. The output of coal, crude oil, natural gas, steel, and electricity declined by 2.5 per cent, 6 per cent, 6.4 per cent, 3.7 per cent and 5.7 per cent respectively, according to the data.

The eight core sectors had expanded by 3.3 per cent in November 2018. The growth rate of cement production dropped to 4.1 per cent from 8.8 per cent in November 2018.

The output of refinery products and fertilizers increased by 3.1 per cent and 13.6 per cent respectively in November 2019 over the year-ago month.

During the April-November period, core industries recorded flat growth (zero per cent) against 5.1 per cent in the year-ago period.

Commenting on the data, Icra Ltd said: "We expect the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) to report a modest growth in November 2019 after having contracted since September 2019".

These industries comprise 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the IIP. While crude oil output remained in the negative since November 2018, natural gas production was in negative since April this year. Similarly, coal output was declining since July this year.