Growth of eight core industries at 2.1% in July, down from 7.3% in 2018, says official data

New Delhi: Growth of eight core industries dropped to 2.1 percent in July mainly due to a contraction in coal, crude oil, natural gas and refinery products, according to an official data.

The eight core sector industries — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity — had expanded by 7.3 percent in July 2018.

According to the data released by the government on Monday, output of coal, crude oil, natural gas and refinery products recorded negative growth in July.

During April-July, the eight sectors grew by 3 percent compared to 5.9 percent in the same period previous year.