Core sector growth slows to 2.3% in May, lowest in 4 months

The grow rate of eight core sector industries decelerated to a four-month low of 2.3 per cent in May due to a decline in crude oil, natural gas, refinery products and steel production.
The infrastructure industries had registered a 5.9 per cent growth in May 2013.
Segments that recorded negative growth last month were crude oil (-0.3 per cent), natural gas (-2.2 per cent), refinery products (-2.3 per cent) and steel (-2 per cent).
However, according to the data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the output of coal, fertilisers, cement and electricity went up by 5.5 per cent, 17.6 per cent, 8.7 per cent and 6.3 per cent, respectively.

During April-May, growth in the eight core industries slowed to 3.3 per cent as against 4.9 per cent in the year-ago period.
In April, the core sectors grew by 4.2 per cent. The growth in May was the slowest since January, when it was 1.6 per cent.
The eight core industries have a combined weight of about 38 per cent in the Index of Industrial Production.
Rating agency ICRA, an associate of Moody's Investors Service, said that deterioration in the performance of steel and electricity relative to the previous month were largely responsible for dip in the growth.