• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager
• BL Club
• Smartbuy

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth
• Events 2007

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

BL Research Bureau

Numbers released last week showed a mild sequential revival in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

It rose by 4.8 per cent in September 2008, compared with 1.3 per cent in August, but was still lower than 7.4 per cent in September 2007.

The sequential increase in IIP numbers has been supported by a better showing from capital goods, which grew by 18.8 per cent, rebounding from 2.3 per cent in August. This is healthy given the high base in September 2007 and needs to be watched for sustainability.

Consumer durables too grew by an impressive 13 per cent, probably due to pre-festive demand.

However, whether the recovery will continue still remains in doubt, given the downturn registered by other macro-economic parameters.

Recent reports suggest that exports declined by 15 per cent in October — the first contraction since 2003. Domestic car sales slumped by 6.6 per cent last month, as consumers put off their purchases, amid tighter access to finance.

The decline in excise revenues by 8.7 per cent in October also is a pointer to slowing manufacturing growth.

More Stories on : Stocks | Economy

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line