Core sector growth slows down to 4-month low of 4.3% in September as production of crude oil, natural gas declines

New Delhi: Growth of eight infrastructure sectors slowed down to 4.3 percent in September, the lowest in the last four months, as production of crude oil and natural gas declined. Previously, the lowest growth rate was in May 2018 when the core sectors expanded at 4.1 percent. [caption id=“attachment_4371135” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] Eight infrastructure sectors of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity had grown by 4.7 percent in September 2017. The output of crude oil and natural gas dipped by 4.2 percent and 1.8 percent respectively in the month under review, according to the data released by the commerce and industry ministry on Wednesday. Fertiliser, cement and electricity output grew by 2.5 percent, 11.8 percent, and 8.2 percent, respectively. However, the growth of coal, refinery products, and steel sectors declined to 6.4 percent, 2.5 percent and 3.2 percent respectively in September. During April-September 2018, the core sector growth was 5.5 percent as against 3.2 percent in the year-ago period. These eight segments comprise 40.27 percent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).