Core sector growth slips on oily ground to 4 per cent in May

The growth of the six key infrastructure industries—crude petroleum, petroleum products, coal, electricity, cement and finished steel—fell to 4 per cent in May from 5.6 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous fiscal, according to data released by the government on Tuesday.

Crude production fell by 3.6 per cent.

Production of petroleum refinery products dipped marginally by 0.1 per cent during May when compared with the year ago period.

Cement production reported a fall in growth from 9.7 per cent during May last year to 7.8 per cent this year.

Electricity sector, however, posted a healthy 5 per cent growth last month, up from 1.8 per cent last year.

Coal production improved marginally with growth climbing to 3.5 per cent during May 2003 from 3.2 per cent a year ago. Finished steel also reported a fall this year as performance dipped from 8.7 per cent to 7.2 per cent in May 2003.

Cumulative growth during the April-May period fell owing to a major fall in crude production, which declined by 3.6 per cent as compared to a growth of 5.9 per cent during the corresponding period last year.

Petroleum products also fell by 4.9 per cent in the two-month period to touch 3.2 per cent, while cement production declined massively to 2.6 per cent from double-digit figures.

Finished steel, however, improved its performance with growth crossing 9 per cent level as compared to 7.7 per cent last year.

The electricity sector though, continued to remain stable with growth remaining more or less constant at 3.5 per cent during the two-month period.