Core sectors growth slows down to 0.2% in June

Growth of eight core industries dropped to 0.2 per cent in June mainly due to a contraction in oil-related sectors as well as in cement production, according to official data.

The eight core sector industries - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity - had expanded by 7.8 per cent in June last year.

According to the data released by the government, crude oil output contracted by 6.8 per cent while the refinery segment de-grew by 9.3 per cent. The cement output declined by 1.5 pe cent. Snapping its two-month declining trend, the production of fertilisers grew by 1.5 per cent.

Steel and electricity production, however, increased by 6.9 per cent and 7.3 per cent, respectively, during the month under review.During April-June, the eight sectors grew by 3.5 per cent compared to 5.5 per cent in the same period last year.