Six core industries show signs of revival in Feb

Higher demand for finished steel and increased petroleum refinery output fuelled expansion of six core infrastructure industries, which grew by 2.2 per cent in February - up from 1.4 per cent in January.

The sequential growth numbers in the core sector, which accounts for 26.7 per cent of the overall industrial production, would have a positive bearing on GDP numbers.
  
However, when compared to the year-ago period, growth has fallen sharply from seven per cent in February 2008.
  
Output in the six key industries - crude oil, petroleum refinery products, coal, electricity, cement and finished steel - during April-February this fiscal was three per cent as against 5.8 per cent a year ago.
  
Finished steel posted a growth of 3.6 per cent in the penultimate month of this fiscal, up from 2.3 per cent in February 2008 and 1.2 per cent in January this year.
  
Production of petroleum refinery products, which had declined by 2.6 per cent in January, showed an improvement and grew by 0.5 per cent in February.
  
Higher steel and refinery output reflect demand in the economy, which has been suffering from the effects of the global financial meltdown since September last. The core sector had contracted for the first time in 15 years in October 2008 and then again in December, before returning to positive territory in January.

Crude oil production continued to remain in the negative zone, as it dipped by 6.2 per cent in February while it had registered a growth of 2.3 per cent a year ago.

Cement production too dipped to 8.3 per cent in February against 12.8 per cent a year ago.

Production in coal slowed to 6 per cent in February from 11.6 per cent in the same month of 2008. Electricity generation was down to 0.3 per cent from 9.8 per cent in February 2008.

Think-tank Crisil's Principal Economist D K Joshi said the core sector was performing in the line with the over all industrial production.

"I think core sector like rest of the industry has been performing badly... Since core sector contributes 26 per cent to industrial output, I think this points that overall industrial activity will also remain subdued," he said.