Industrial production declines by 3.8% in October on poor performance by power, capital goods, consumer durables sectors

Industrial production shrank by 3.8 percent in October, mainly due to poor performance by power, capital goods, consumer durables sectors, according to official data released on Thursday. The contraction in factory output, adding to a series of weak indicators that suggest the country’s economic slowdown is deep-rooted and interest rate cuts alone may not be enough to revive growth.

#BreakingNews | October IIP at -3.8% Vs -4.3% (MoM) pic.twitter.com/FNxVPThpLZ

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This was a third straight month of contraction, after a decline of 4.3 percent in September and 1.4 percent in August. Industrial output shrank at its lowest rate in more than six years last month, reflecting the impact of an economic slowdown. According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, 4.3 percent contraction is the lowest in 2011-12 series of Index of Industrial Production, which was unveiled in May 2017. The IIP had declined by 0.7 percent in April, 2012, PTI said. [caption id=“attachment_4236685” align=“alignnone” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] Factory output, as measured in terms of Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had expanded 8.4 percent in October 2018. A slowdown was witnessed in the manufacturing sector, which declined by 2.1 percent in October as compared to 8.2 percent growth a year ago. Power generation dipped sharply by 12.2 percent in October, compared to 10.8 percent growth in the year-ago period. Mining output too fell 8 percent in the month under review as against 7.3 percent growth in the corresponding period last fiscal. Capital goods production, which is a barometer of investment, declined by 21.9 percent in October compared to 16.9 percent hike in the year-ago month. As per use-based classification, the growth rates in October 2019 over October 2018 are (-) 6.0 percent in primary goods, 22.2 percent in intermediate goods and (-) 9.2 percent in infrastructure/construction goods. Consumer durables and consumer non-durables have recorded growth of (-) 18.0 percent and (-) 1.1 percent, respectively. —With inputs from agencies