New Delhi: The output of eight core infrastructure sectors contracted to six-month low of 4.5 percent in July against 9.9 percent in the year-ago period, according to official data released on Wednesday.

The output of these infrastructure sectors expanded by 13.2 percent in June, 19.3 percent in May, 9.5 percent in April, 4.8 percent in March, 5.9 percent in February and 4 percent in January.

The production growth of eight infrastructure sectors — coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity — was 11.5 percent in April-July this fiscal against 21.4 percent a year ago.

Crude oil and natural gas production contracted by 3.8 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, during the month under review.

In July, the fertiliser output rose by 6.2 percent against 0.6 percent in the same month last year.

The growth rate in the output of coal, refinery products, steel, cement and electricity slowed down to 11.4 percent, 6.2 percent, 5.7 percent, 2.1 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.

Commenting on the numbers, domestic rating agency Ind-Ra said that the year-on-year growth in the core sector output sharply decelerated to a six-month low of 4.5 percent in July.

"Ind-Ra believes that the ongoing recovery has still a long way to go because the output of some of the core segments is still lower than the pre-pandemic level," the agency said.

(With PTI inputs)

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