NEW DELHI: India’s industrial prodution fell 0.7% in August, slighlty slower than 2.5% decline in July.
Data released by the statistics office showed a 0.3% fall in manufacturing production in August and a sharp 5.6% decline in mining output compared with a 0.8% growth in July. Manufacturing as a sector has the highest weight in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). The pace of electricity generation marginally improved 0.1% compared with moderation in the previous month.
July IIP reading was revised to a 2.5% contraction, compared with the 2.4% decline reported earlier.
Capital goods output nosedived 22.2% July. It has been falling for the last few months.
The decreased pace of slowing industrial activity was evident in seven out of the 22 industry groups in the manufacturing sector in August- a marked improvement from July.
Consumer goods production rose 1.1% in August with the output of consumer non-durables — an indicator of rural demand – rising a mere 0.1% and that of consumer durables a gauge of urban demand, rising 2.3%.