Dashing hopes of a sharp rebound in factory output performance for November, the output of eight core industries grew a modest 1.7 per cent during the month under review, against 5.8 per cent growth last November.

Factory output or Index of Industrial production (IIP) had contracted 1.8 per cent in October as compared to a growth of 8.4 per cent in same month last year.

The eight core industries have a weightage of about 38 per cent in the index of industrial production.

The latest November output for the eight core industries – coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity – is, however, much better than the October performance, when it contracted 0.6 per cent.

The eight core industries’ output had seen a robust 8 per cent rise in September.

In the April-November 2013 period, the eight core industries’ output grew 2.5 per cent, lower than 6.7 per cent in the same period last fiscal, official data released on Tuesday showed.

The November 2013 performance was weighed down by contraction in natural gas and refinery products output, besides a tepid growth in fertilisers and steel. However, coal, cement and electricity put in a reasonably good performance.

>srivats.kr@thehindu.co.in

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