Eight core sectors grow by 6.6% in July pushed by healthy output in coal, refinery products, cement and fertiliser

New Delhi: Eight core sectors grew by 6.6 percent in July pushed by healthy output in coal, refinery products, cement and fertiliser. The eight core sector – coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity – had registered a growth of 2.9 percent in July last year. [caption id=“attachment_4191451” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] The output of coal, refinery products, fertiliser and cement grew by 9.7 percent, 12.3 percent, 1.3 percent and 10.8 percent respectively in July 2018. However, growth rate in production of crude oil and natural gas recorded negative growth in the month of July. On the other hand, steel sector expansion came down to 6 percent, as against 9.4 percent in July 2017. During the April-July period of the current fiscal, these 8 sectors grew by 5.8 percent as against 2.6 percent in the year-ago period. In June, they grew by 7.6 percent.