Core sector growth slows to 4% in December; crude oil, coal, steel output slump

New Delhi: Growth of the eight core sectors slowed to a five-month low of 4 percent in December 2017 due to negative performance of segments like coal and crude oil, official data showed on Wednesday. The output growth recorded in December is the lowest since July 2017, when these core sectors had witnessed 2.9 percent expansion. [caption id=“attachment_4191451” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] These eight industries – coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity – had witnessed a growth of 5.6 percent in December 2016. The output of coal and crude oil sectors contracted 0.1 percent and 2.1 percent respectively during the month under review. Growth in steel and electricity generation slowed to 2.6 percent and 3.3 percent respectively in December last year as against 15.9 percent and 6.4 percent in the same month of 2016. Refinery products, natural gas, fertiliser and cement recorded healthy growth last month. Cumulatively, the growth in the eight core sectors during April-December this fiscal slowed to 4 percent as against 5.3 percent in the same period last fiscal. The growth in key sectors will have implications for the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) as these eight segments account for about 41 percent of the total factory output.