The growth rate of eight core infrastructure sectors of the country’s economy slowed to 3.3% in August compared to 12.2% in the same period last year, government data showed on Friday.
The economic activities that constitute the core sector are coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity. These eight sectors together account for over 40% of the total industrial production of the country.
Core sector growth in August was the lowest in nine months, according to PTI. The previous low was 3.2% in November.
From the start of this financial year in April to August, the core sectors registered a cumulative growth of 9.8%, as compared to growth of 19.4% in the same period last year.
Crude oil and natural gas sectors reported contractions for the second straight month. Crude oil registered a contraction of 3.3% in August as compared to 3.8% in July, while the natural gas sector contracted by 0.9% in August as against 0.3% in July.
Meanwhile, the growth rate of refinery products, fertilisers and cement was higher in August than in July.
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