• Core sector core sector industries (eight) – coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity – had expanded by 4.7 percent in August last year
• Coal, crude oil, natural gas, cement, and electricity recorded a negative growth of 8.6 percent, 5.4 percent , 3.9 percent, 4.9 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively, in August, according to the data of the Commerce and Industry Ministry
• Only fertiliser and steel production grew by 2.9 percent, and 5 percent, respectively during the month under review

New Delhi: Its bad news, again, from the economy. Eight core industries contracted to over three-and-half year low of 0.5 percent in August 2019, largely due to decline in the outputs in the coal, crude oil, natural gas, cement, and electricity sectors. This is admitted position and can be sourced to government data released on Monday. The date is from the Commerce and Industry ministry.

In contrast, the very same eight-core sector industries – coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity – had expanded by 4.7 percent in August last year. The previous low was recorded at (-) 1.3 in November 2015.

Coal, crude oil, natural gas, cement, and electricity recorded a negative growth of 8.6 percent, 5.4 percent, 3.9 percent, 4.9 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively, in August, according to the data of the Commerce and Industry ministry. However, fertiliser and steel production grew by 2.9 percent, and 5 percent, respectively, during the month under review.

Similarly, growth rate in the production of refinery products dipped by 2.6 percent in August this year as against 5.1 percent in the same month last year. During April-August, growth in the eight core industries grew by 2.4 percent from 5.7 percent in the year-ago period.

Commenting on the data, rating firm Icra Ltd said: “The performance of the core sectors in August 2019 was disappointingly weak, with a broad-based deterioration in six of the eight constituents and as many as five sectors recording a year-on-year contraction in that month”. ICRA Limited (ICRA) is an Indian independent and professional investment information and credit rating agency.^[2] It was established in 1991, and was originally named Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India Limited (IICRA India).

The contraction in the core sector growth in August 2019 confirms the view that the modest pickup in the IIP growth in July did not signal the start of industrial recovery, it added in a statement
 
 

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