The industrial output (IIP) numbers for the month of February have come in better-than expected at 0.6 per cent against an expectation of a contraction. The bounce in the industrial output has come due to contribution from consumer goods sector, which turned positive for the first time in a year at 0.5 percent.
Barring consumer goods, all other constituents of industrial output basket have declined. Mining sector, electricity and consumer non-durables growth continued to disappoint.
Manufacturing growth fell to 2.2 percent versus 4 percent year-on-year. Retail inflation declined to 10.39 per cent in March from 10.91 per cent in February.
Factory output, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had grown by 4.3 per cent in February last year. For the April-February period of 2012-13 fiscal, the industrial production growth is at 0.9 per cent, down from 3.5 per cent in the same period of 2011-12, according to official data released on Friday. Meanwhile, the decline in industrial output for January has remained almost at a same level of provisional estimates of 2.4 per cent released last month.
There was a contraction of 3.2 per cent in power output in February this year compared to a growth of 8 per cent in the same month of 2012. During the April-February period, electricity generation has gone up by 4 per cent, compared to a growth of 8.7 per cent in the same period of the 2011-12 fiscal.
The mining output in February this year too contracted by 8.1 per cent, compared to a growth in production by 2.3 per cent in the same month of 2012. For the April-February period, the production in the sector showed a decline of 2.5 per cent, against contraction of 2.1 per cent in the year-ago period. Overall, 13 of the 22 industry groups in manufacturing sector have shown positive growth during February.
Capital goods output grew by 9.5 per cent in February, as against a growth of 10.5 per cent in same month of 2012. Capital goods output contracted in the April-February period by 7.6 per cent, as against a dip of 1.8 per cent in the same period of 2011-12.
The consumer goods output saw meagre growth of 0.5 per cent in February, compared to a decline in production by 0.4 per cent in same month last year. In the April-February period of the last fiscal, the growth in the segment was 2.5 per cent as compared to 4.7 per cent in the same period of 2011-12.
The dip in the output of consumer durables stood at 2.7 per cent in February, as compared to a contraction of 6.2 per cent in the same month of 2012. The growth in the output of these goods remained flat at 2.7 per cent in April-February period of last fiscal. The consumer non-durables output grew by 2.9 per cent in February, compared to 4.4 per cent in the same month last year. This segment's growth was at 2.3 per cent in the 11-month period of last fiscal, as against 6.4 per cent in the previous fiscal.
The intermediate goods production also saw a dip of 0.7 per cent in February, compared to a growth of one per cent in the same month last year. During the April-February period, this segment recorded a growth of 1.5 per cent, compared to a contraction of 0.7 per cent in the first 11 months of 2011-12.
The basic goods output saw a contraction of 1.8 per cent in February compared to a growth of 7.6 per cent in the same month last year. During April-February period of 2012-13, the production of basic goods grew by 2.3 per cent compared to a growth of 5.9 per cent in the 11 month period of previous fiscal.
(With Additional Inputs From PTI)
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