India’s annual infrastructure output – a measure of production in eight related sectors – grew at its fastest pace in five months in August, driven by higher coal and electricity production, government data showed on Tuesday.
The output grew 4.9% in August compared with a revised 2.6% year-on-year growth in July. During the April-August period, the annual output growth was 3%.
The data is a measure of production in the sectors of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, electricity, steel, cement and fertiliser. A high reading is seen as positive for the rupee.
The eight infrastructure sectors accounted for 40% of the Index of Industrial Production, the data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industries showed.
Electricity production saw the highest growth in August, at at 10.3%. It was followed by coal output, which grew 15.3% from that a year ago.
Three sectors – crude oil, fertilisers and cement – saw a decline this August, compared to that in 2016.
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