Showing no signs of improvement, the output of eight core infrastructure industries contracted for the fourth consecutive month in November by 1.5%, according to official data released on Tuesday. Since August, these industries are recording negative growth.
The output of coal, crude oil, natural gas, steel, and electricity declined by 2.5%, 6%, 6.4%, 3.7% and 5.7% respectively, according to the data.
The core sectors had expanded by 3.3% in November 2018. The growth of cement production dropped to 4.1% from 8.8% in November 2018. The output of refinery products and fertilizer increased by 3.1% and 13.6% respectively in November 2019.
During the April-November period, the core industries recorded flat growth (zero%) against 5.1% in the year-ago period.
