New Delhi: The growth rate of eight core sector industries decelerated to a four-month low of 2.3 percent in May due to a decline in crude oil, natural gas, refinery products and steel production.
The infrastructure industries had registered a 5.9 percent growth in May 2013.
Segments that recorded negative growth last month were crude oil (-0.3 percent), natural gas (-2.2 percent), refinery products (-2.3 percent) and steel (-2 percent).
However, according to the data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the output of coal, fertilisers, cement and electricity went up by 5.5 percent, 17.6 percent, 8.7 percent and 6.3 percent, respectively.
During April-May, growth in the eight core industries slowed to 3.3 percent as against 4.9 percent in the year-ago period.
In April, the core sectors grew by 4.2 percent. The growth in May was the slowest since January, when it was 1.6 percent.
The eight core industries have a combined weight of about 38 percent in the Index of Industrial Production.
Rating agency ICRA, an associate of Moody's Investors Service, said that deterioration in the performance of steel and electricity relative to the previous month were largely responsible for dip in the growth.
