Core sector growth falls to 0.4% in June from 4.1% in May; coal output declines 6.7%

New Delhi: The growth of eight core sectors slowed to 0.4 percent in June due to contraction in output of coal, refinery products, fertiliser and cement. The growth rate of eight infrastructure sectors – coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity – was 7 percent in June last year. [caption id=“attachment_3878319” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The production of coal declined by 6.7 percent, refinery products by 0.2 percent, fertiliser by 3.6 percent and cement by 5.8 percent, as per the official data. Crude oil output rose to 0.6 percent last month as against a decline of 4.3 percent in June 2016. According to the data, natural gas output rose by 6.4 percent in June. Steel production and power generation slowed to 5.8 percent and 0.7 percent in June this year from 8.8 percent and 9.8 percent in the same month last year respectively. Slow growth in key sectors would also have implications on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) as these segments account for about 41 percent to the total factory output. In May, these eight sectors had recorded a growth rate of 4.1 percent.