Banks' credit to industry slows in Feb: RBI

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian banks' credit to industry slowed in the month of February compared with the previous month as well as from the previous year, data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed on Thursday.

Credit to industry rose 14.7 percent in February, slower than 15.2 percent in January, and 19.1 percent in the year-ago period, the RBI said in a statement.

Indian banks' advances grew at a slower pace in 2012/13 compared with a year earlier, and fell short of the central bank's projection, hurt by lower demand for credit from companies in a slowing economy.

Banks' loans grew 12.1 percent on year to March 22, lower than 16.6 percent in the previous year and below the RBI's projection of 16 percent for 2012/13.

However, credit to sectors such as petroleum, tobacco, cement, and chemicals expanded more than it did a year ago, the statement said.

Overall, non-food credit grew 14.4 percent in February, slower than 14.6 in January, and also from 15.4 percent a year ago.

Banks' credit to the agriculture sector increased by 18.4 percent in February, slower than 19.8 percent a month ago, but much higher than 8.0 percent in the same period last year.

Credit to the services sector rose by 12.7 percent in February, slightly faster than 12.0 percent in January, but lower than 14.7 percent a year ago.

The Indian economy is expected to have grown around 5 percent in the financial year 2012/13 that ended in March, the slowest in a decade.

(Reporting by Neha Dasgupta; Editing by Sunil Nair)