June core sector growth falls to 0.4 % in June from 4.1 % in May

Growth was crimped by a contraction in production of coal, cement and refinery products

Subhayan Chakraborty  |  New Delhi 

June core sector growth falls to 0.4 % in June from 4.1 % in May

Annual infrastructure output nudged up 0.4% in June, crimped by a contraction in production of coal, and refinery products, government data showed on Monday.

The output grew a revised 4.1% year-on-year in May.

Data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Monday also showed that the eight core industries — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, and — had a cumulative growth of 2.4 % in the first three months of the current financial year.

This is less than half the 6.9 % growth that was seen in same period of FY17.

Contributing 40 % to the total industrial production, output had managed to rise in May mainly due to a significant rise in the sector supported by and natural gas.

In June, however, the sector managed to rise by only 0.7 %. But the slowest growth was witnessed by crude oil production, which rose by only 0.6 %.

Coal output contracted 6.7%, while production contracted 5.8% on year last month.