Now Reading: Industrial output rises 7.3% as services growth eases in May
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Industrial output rises 7.3% as services growth eases in May
India’s industrial output grew 7.3% year-on-year in June, its highest rate in six months, led by manufacturing and electricity, provisional data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed. Manufacturing expanded…
The Story in Brief
India’s industrial output grew 7.3% year-on-year in June, its highest rate in six months, led by manufacturing and electricity, provisional data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed. Manufacturing expanded 7.8%, while electricity and gas supply rose 10.6%. Capital goods output increased 14.2%, pointing to firmer investment activity, though consumer demand remained mixed.
Separately, the trial Index of Services Production grew 9.8% in May, down from 20.8% in April, Livemint reports. Eight of the 19 tracked services recorded double-digit growth. Accommodation and food services grew 27.4%, while retail trade rose 13.3%. Air transport, information and broadcasting contracted. The services index covers about 60% of the sector’s output and remains experimental.
The Indian Opinion
The easy story is that India is enjoying a broad-based boom. The equally lazy counter-story is that the data are worthless because the series are new. The numbers show a more mixed picture: manufacturing and capital goods are strong, but mining and mass consumption lagged, while services growth slowed sharply from April. The key test is whether investment-led industrial growth feeds into consumer demand in the next few months, without margins being squeezed by higher input costs.
Sources (2): livemint.com, livemint.com (2)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
