Activity in the core sectors of the economy contracted for the second consecutive month, by 5.8% in October, in large part due to contractions in the electricity and coal sectors, official data released on Friday show.
The Index of Eight Core Industries contracted in October compared with a contraction of 5.1% in September. Within the index, the coal sector contracted for the fourth consecutive month, by 17.6%, compared with a contraction of 20.5% in September.
The electricity sector contracted for the third consecutive month, by 12.4% in October, compared with a contraction of 2.6% in the previous month. The crude oil sector also continued its streak of contraction, with activity in the sector contracting 5.1% in October compared with a contraction of 5.4% in the previous month. The natural gas sector contracted for the seventh consecutive month, by 5.7% in October compared with a contraction of 4.9% in the previous month.
The refinery products sector was one of the two sectors that witnessed growth in October, with its growth accelerating to 0.4% from a contraction of 6.6% in the previous month. The fertilizers sector also saw accelerating growth coming in at 11.8% in October, compared with 5.4% in the previous month.
The steel sector contracted 1.6% in October compared with a contraction of 1.5% in September.
