India’s February Infrastructure Output Quickens To 11-Month High

Tuesday,   31-Mar-2020   05:21 PM (IST)

India’s infrastructure output rose 5.5% on year in February under a re-based time series, the fastest pace of growth since Mach last year and quickening for a third month, as output of petroleum refinery products and electricity jumped. The infrastructure output print for January was revised to 1.4% from previously reported 2.2% expansion. The core index, as it is commonly called and has a revised combined weight of over 40% in the index of industrial output, indicates the momentum of overall manufacturing activity in the economy. Infrastructure output rose 1% on year during the first 11 months of this fiscal year that ends today, slower than the 4.2% expansion for the same period a year earlier. Production of petroleum refinery products, which has the highest 28.04% weight in the index, rose 7.4% annually in February, against a 1.9% gain in January, the data showed. Electricity output, which has a 19.85% weight in the core sector index, jumped 11% in February, faster than January’s revised 3.2% expansion, data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry showed. Steel production contracted 0.4% on year in February, narrower than a revised 1.4% fall in January. Cement production grew 8.6% in February, higher than last month’s 5.1% annual expansion. Coal production expanded 10.3% in February, rising from last month’s revised 6.9% annual expansion, while crude oil output fell 6.4% versus a 5.3% decline in January, the data showed. Fertilizer output in February rose 2.9%, rebounding from 0.1% annual contraction in January. Natural gas production contracted 9.6% in February as compared with a 9% fall in the previous month, the data showed.