Eight core industries’ output growth in January stood at 1.6 per cent, a three-month low and much lower than the 8.3 per cent growth recorded in the same month last year. The January 2014 performance was weighed down by contraction in coal, natural gas and refinery products output, official data showed.

The eight core industries account for about 38 per cent of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). However, January is the third straight month where the eight core industries’ recorded positive growth in output. The October 2013 print saw a contraction of 0.6 per cent. The eight core industries — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity — had recorded 2.1 per cent growth in December 2013. Five of the eight core industries recorded positive growth in January 2014. Coal, natural gas and refinery products contracted 0.7 per cent, 5.2 per cent and 4.5 per cent, respectively.

For the April-January 2014 period, eight core industries’ output grew 2.4 per cent as compared to 6.9 per cent in same period last fiscal.

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