Economic slowdown: Core output shrinks 5.8 per cent in October
New Delhi, Nov 30: Output of eight core infrastructure industries contracted by 5.8 per cent in October, indicating the severity of economic slowdown, according to the government data released on Friday.
As
many
as
six
of
the
eight
core
industries
saw
a
contraction
in
output
in
October.
Coal
production
fell
steeply
by
17.6
per
cent,
crude
oil
by
5.1
per
cent,
and
natural
gas
by
5.7
per
cent.
Production of cement (- 7.7 per cent), steel (- 1.6 per cent), and electricity (- 12.4 per cent) also declined during the month.
The only sector that posted growth in October was fertilizers where production increased by 11.8 per cent year-on-year.
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Growth in output of refinery products slowed down to 0.4 per cent in October as against 1.3 per cent in the same period last year.
The
eight-core
sectors
had
expanded
by
4.8
per
cent
in
October
2018.
During
the
April-October
period,
the
growth
of
core
industries
fell
to
0.2
per
cent
against
5.4
per
cent
in
the
year-ago
period.
Output of eight core infrastructure industries had contracted by 5.1 per cent in September, the lowest in the decade.