Eight core industries grow 7.3 percent in June

Eight core industries such as coal, electricity, crude oil, cement and steel, grew 7.3 percent in June this year, compared to 1.2 percent during the corresponding month of last year, official data showed Thursday.

The index of eight core industries having a combined weight of 37.90 percent in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) with base 2004-05 stood at 168.7 in the month under review, the ministry of commerce and industry said in a statement.

Electricity generation, which has 10.32 percent weight in the IIP, grew 15.7 percent in June 2014 as compared to a standstill growth in the same month of previous year.

Cement production grew 13.6 percent, coal production was up 8.1 percent and crude oil output grew 0.1 percent in the month under review.

However, two of the eight core industries registered negative growth in June.

Natural gas production fell 1.7 percent, fertilizers output was down 1.00 percent.

Petroleum and refinery products was higher 1.2 percent and Steel products was down 4.2 percent.

The IIP, the barometer for measuring industrial output, had increased by 4.7 percent in May on the back of healthy growth in manufacturing production,.

The IIP data for June has not been released yet.