The Indian economy has been on a shaky wicket in August, according to government data released on Monday. The eight core industries recorded a 0.5 percent decline in output in August, against 2.7 percent growth recorded in July, and 4.7 percent growth in August last year.

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Of these 8 core sectors, coal saw the biggest contraction in output, at 8.6 percent. This sector’s output had contracted 1.6 percent in July. Through August, crude oil growth declined 5.4 percent, natural gas 3.9 percent, cement output was down 4.9 percent, and electricity output fell 2.9 percent. The silver lining came from the fertiliser sector, where output grew 2.9 percent, higher than the 1.5 percent growth in July. The cement sector’s performance is a little worrisome, as it highlights the slowdown in the construction and real estate sector when read against a 7.9 percent expansion in July.

Refinery Products grew 2.6 percent, a robust reversal from the 0.9 percent contraction recorded in July. The steel sector’s output also grew 5 percent in August, and while this is the sector that has seen the biggest spike in August, the number is lower than the 8.9 percent growth seen in July – another sign of persisting weakness in steel and allied sectors like auto and construction.

For the April-August period, growth in these eight core industries grew 2.4 percent, lower than that 5.7 percent growth recorded a year ago.

First Published:Sept 30, 2019 6:30 PM IST