While growth in coal output touched an 11-month high of 7.6 per cent in July, cement output expanded by a 7-month high of 13.1 per cent in the month
| Photo Credit:
Nine key infrastructure sectors output rose by 5.4 per cent in July as against 6 per cent in June, official data for Index of Core Industries (ICI) released on Thursday showed. The growth rate was 3.2 per cent in the same month of last year. These nine sectors include coal, iron ore, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity. As these have more than 40 per cent share in Index of Industrial Production, so based on this data, experts feel that growth of factory output may be lower in July. Overall industrial growth data for July will be announced on August 28.According to an official statement, iron ore, cement, electricity, coal, steel, and refinery products observed growth rate of 29.5 per cent, 13.1 per cent, 9 per cent, 7.6 per cent, 2.9 per cent, and 2.7 per cent, respectively, whereas natural gas, crude oil and fertilizers witnessed negative growth in July.Growth driversIron ore, electricity, and cement have been the major drivers of overall growth of ICI during recent months. Cumulative growth rate of ICI during April-July 2026 was 4.3 per cent compared to 1.5 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year. Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist at ICRA said the growth in iron ore output moderated sharply to 29.5 per cent in July from 44.5 per cent in June, owing to an unfavourable base, while remaining quite strong. This alone exerted a downward pressure to the tune of 95 bps on the core output print in July relative to the previous month. Besides, electricity generation and steel output also witnessed a slower growth in July vis-à-vis June 2026, while fertilizer and crude oil saw a steeper contraction. Fertilizer output has contracted for the fifth consecutive month, reflecting the impact of the West Asia conflict.Refinery products output expanded for the first time in four months in July, although the pace of growth was muted at just 2.7 per cent. While growth in coal output touched an 11-month high of 7.6 per cent in July, cement output expanded by a 7-month high of 13.1 per cent in the month, suggesting that construction activity likely remained healthy. The replenishment of inventory after the extended period for construction activity in June owing to the sizeable monsoon deficit in the month is likely to have supported cement output in.“Given the trends in core output, we expect the IIP growth to moderate to 6-6.5 per cent in July from 7.3 per cent in June,” Nayar said.Published on August 20, 2026
