India's October industrial output falls into negative zone
08 Dec 2011
India's industrial output declined by 7 per cent in October, dragged down by a fall in the capital goods sector - the first time it moved into negative territory since June 2009.
"Initial estimates show that industrial production has shrunk by 7 per cent. But with more data coming in, the decline may be around 5 per cent," The Times of India reported quoting a source it did not name.
The official data is slated to be released next week.
Industrial growth slowed to a two-year low of 1.9 per cent in September as a sluggish manufacturing sector hit by rising interest rates and a decline in mining output hurt expansion.
Eight core industries, which have a combined share of 37.90 per cent in the index of industrial production (IIP), grew 0.1 per cent compared to its growth of 7.2 per cent in October 2010, the newspaper said.
This comes at a time when the economy is passing through a difficult period.
