Production growth in eight key infrastructure sectors dropped to a 20-month low of 4% in June this year, owing to a drop in crude oil and refinery product output. The main sectors’ production increased by 6.4% in May 2024.
In June 2023, basic sectors such as coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizer, steel, cement, and power grew by 8.4%. The previous low level of growth was observed in October 2022, at 0.7%.
The eight main sectors account for 40.27% of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), which measures total industrial growth. Crude oil, and refinery products’ output contracted by (-) 2.6 per cent and (-) 1.5 per cent, respectively, in June.
During the month under review, growth rates in natural gas, fertilizer, steel, and cement output fell to 3.3%, 2.4%, 2.7%, and 1.9%, respectively.