Core sector growth slowed to 3.5% in November, the slowest in 16 months, from 4.8% in October, due in large part to a slowdown in the coal, cement and electricity sectors.
The index of eight core industries comprises 40.27% of the weight of items in the Index of Industrial Production, the measure of overall industrial activity in the country.
Coal production increased by 3.7% in November 2018 over November 2017, dramatically slower than the 11.3% growth seen in October. The cumulative index increased by 9% during April to November 2018-19 over corresponding period of the previous year.
The cement sector similarly saw growth in November slowing to 8.8% from 18.4% in October.
Over the April-November period, the sector grew 14.2%. The electricity sector grew 5.4% in November compared with 10.9% in October.
The only sector to significantly buck this trend was steel, which saw growth accelerating to 6% in November from 2.6% in October. The sector grew 3.7% over the April-November period of this year.
Crude oil contracted 3.5% in November compared with a contraction of 5% in October. The natural gas sector, however, grew 0.5% up from a contraction of 0.9% over the same period.
The refinery products sector grew 2.3% in November, up from 1.3% in the previous month.
Fertilizer sector contracted for the second consecutive month in November by 8.1% compared with a contraction of 11.5% in October.