Output data for May from the eight core infrastructure sectors show broad industrial activity slowed
Only coal, to fuel the power plants, and electricity generation posted double-digit output growth, expanding by 10.2% and 12.8%, respectively
Production in crude oil, fertilizers and cement shrank from their year-earlier levels, while output expansions decelerated in the remaining three sectors of natural gas, refinery products and steel
The heatwave’s impact on economic activity in May was particularly prominent in India’s northern parts
Demand for cement and steel weakened as construction activity was understandably curbed by the temperatures
The year-on-year contraction in fertilizers for a fifth straight month in May is a cause for concern as it signals persisting weakness in the rural hinterland’s mainstay agriculture sector
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