Core sectors' growth slows down to 2.1% in February on fall in output of crude oil and refinery products

New Delhi: The growth of eight core sectors slowed down to 2.1 percent in February due to fall in output of crude oil and refinery products, official data showed on Monday. Eight infrastructure sectors – coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity – had expanded by 5.4 percent in February 2018. Production of crude oil and refinery products contracted by 6.1 percent, and 0.8 percent, respectively, in February. [caption id=“attachment_4317853” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] The growth rate of production of fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity slowed to 2.5 percent, 4.9 percent, 8 percent and 0.7 percent in February as against 5.2 percent, 5 percent, 23 percent and 4.6 percent in the same month of 2018, respectively. However, coal and natural gas output grew by 7.3 percent, and 3.8 percent, respectively, in the month under review. Sluggish infrastructure sector growth will also have an impact on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) as these segments account for about 41 percent of the total factory output. According to the Commerce and Industry Ministry data, during April-February 2018-19, the eight sectors recorded a flat growth rate of 4.3 percent over the same period previous fiscal.