Monsoon rains above average for second straight week

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The monsoon recorded higher than average levels for the second straight week, weather office data showed, aiding the rains to cover half of the country two days ahead of schedule.

Rainfall for the week ended June 12 was 35 percent above average. In the first week, the rainfall was 28 percent above average, reflecting timely onset of the seasonal rains over the southern Kerala coast.

The rains are crucial for farm output and economic growth as about 55 percent of the south Asian nation's arable land is rain-fed, and the farm sector accounts for about 15 percent of a nearly $2-trillion economy, Asia's third-biggest. (Reporting by Ratnajyoti Dutta; editing by Mayank Bhardwaj)