Pulled down by the contraction in crude oil and natural gas production, the eight core industries’ output growth slowed down to 3.1 per cent in July, lower than 4.5 per cent growth recorded in July last year.
But, the latest monthly performance is a four-month high and much better than the 0.1 per cent growth seen in June this year.
For April-July, eight core industries’ output grew 1.9 per cent, much lower than the 6.3 per cent recorded in same period last year.
The eight core industries have a weightage of about 38 per cent in the Index of Industrial Production.
For July, crude oil and natural gas production contracted by 2.3 per cent and 16.1 per cent, respectively. Petroleum refinery production expanded by 5.1 per cent (26 per cent)
Cement output grew 0.8 per cent, while steel production grew seven per cent. Coal and electricity production grew 1.2 per cent (two per cent) and 5.2 per cent (2.7 per cent), respectively in July 2012. Fertiliser output grew 0.4 per cent (-2.2 per cent).