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Growth in production of coal, fertilisers, cement, refinery products and electricity contributed to an overall 3.6 per cent increase (year-on-year) in the eight core infrastructure industries in May.
The pace of growth, however, slipped to a 10-month low due to a decline in production of crude oil and natural gas in May. Core sector growth was 4.6 per cent in April while in May 2017, the comparable month of the previous year, it was 3.9 per cent.
“The moderation in the growth of the core sector industries and automobile production, suggest an impending decline in the pace of industrial expansion in May relative to the initial print of 4.9 per cent for April, led by mining and manufacturing," according to Aditi Nayar, Principal Economist, ICRA Ltd.
The eight core industries comprise 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
Coal and fertiliser were the best performing sectors in May with output increasing by 12.1 per cent and 8.4 per cent, respectively.
Cement, refinery products and electricity registered growth rates of 5.2 per cent, 4.9 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively in May while steel production was almost stagnant with a growth rate of 0.5 per cent.
Crude oil and natural gas posted a fall of 2.9 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively in May compared to the same month last year.
During April-May, the eight core industries recorded a growth of 4.1 per cent as against 3.3 per cent in the same period last year.
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