The growth of eight core infrastructure industries slowed to four-month low of 4.3% in September 2018, as production of crude oil and natural gas declined. According to data released by the ministry of Commerce and Industry, the combined Index of eight core industries stood at 127.2 in September, 2018, which was 4.3% higher compared to the index of September, 2017. Its cumulative growth during April to September, 2018-19 was 5.5%. The Eight Core Industries - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity - comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
Among eight core sectors, Coal production having 10.33% weight rose 6.4% in September, 2018 over September, 2017, and its cumulative index increased by 9.6% during April to September, 2018-19 over corresponding period of the previous year. Petroleum Refinery production having 28.04% weight increased 2.5% in September, 2018 over September, 2017 and its cumulative index surged by 6.6% during April to September, 2018-19 over the corresponding period of previous year.
The Natural Gas production having 6.88% weight declined by 1.8% in September, 2018 over September, 2017, and its cumulative index was down by 0.8% during April to September, 2018-19 over the corresponding period of previous year. On the flip side, Steel production having 17.92% weight jumped by 3.2% in September, 2018 over September, 2017 and its cumulative index increased by 3.5% during April to September, 2018-19 over the corresponding period of previous year.
Fertilizer production having 2.63% weight increased by 2.5% in September, 2018 over September, 2017, and its cumulative index rose by 1.8% during April to September, 2018-19 over the corresponding period of previous year. Cement production having 5.37% weight jumped 11.8% in September, 2018 over September, 2017 and its cumulative index increased by 14.4% during April to September, 2018-19 over the corresponding period of previous year. On the other hand, Crude Oil production having 8.98% weight declined by 4.2% in September, 2018 over September, 2017 and its cumulative index fell by 3.4% during April to September, 2018-19 over the corresponding period of previous year.