Infra sector growth rises to 4-month high of 5.8% in Feb

The production of the core sectors had declined by 3.3% in February last year while it had grown by 4% in January 2022

The production of eight infrastructure sectors expanded by 5.8 per cent in February, the sharpest growth in the last four months on better output of coal, natural gas, refinery products and cement industries, according to official data released on Thursday.

The production of the core sectors had declined by 3.3 per cent in February last year while it had grown by 4 per cent in January 2022.

In February, the production of coal rose by 6.6 per cent, natural gas by 12.5 per cent, refinery products by 8.8 per cent, and cement by 5 per cent.

On the other hand, production of crude oil and fertiliser declined.

The growth rate of the eight infrastructure sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity -- stood at 11 per cent during the April-February period of the current fiscal as against a negative growth rate of 8.1 per cent during the same period last financial year.

Core sectors hold a 40.27 per cent weightage in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

Rating agency ICRA's Chief Economist Aditi Nayar said the IIP growth is expected to print at sub-2.5 per cent in February, lagging the core sector rise.