Eight core industries' output contracts for the 4th consecutive month in June, declines by 15%

New Delhi: The output of eight core infrastructure industries shrank by for the fourth consecutive month in June. Output of eight core infrastructure industries declined by 15 percent in June due to fall in the production of coal, crude oil, natural gas, steel, cement and electricity, official data showed on Friday.

The eight core sectors had expanded by 1.2 percent in June 2019, data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Friday showed. Final growth rate of Index of Eight Core Industries for March’2020 is revised at -8.6 %. The Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27 percent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

Barring fertiliser, all seven sectors - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, steel, cement, and electricity - had recorded negative growth in June.

The output of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, steel, cement and electricity declined by 15.5 per cent, 6 per cent, 12 per cent, 8.9 per cent, 33.8 per cent, 6.9 per cent, and 11 per cent, respectively.

During April-June 2020-21, the sector's output dipped by 24.6 percent as compared to a positive growth of 3.4 percent in the same period previous year.