Core sector growth accelerated to 7.9 per cent in September, compared with 5.9 per cent in August, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday.
The data also highlighted that the growth in the Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) was driven by strong performance in iron ore, electricity, coal, refinery products, cement and steel, while fertilisers, natural gas and crude oil recorded negative growth during the month.
Iron ore production recorded the highest growth at 18.4 per cent year-on-year in September, followed by electricity at 11.4 per cent and coal at 10.7 per cent. Refinery products grew 10.3 per cent, cement output increased 9.8 per cent, and steel production rose 4.9 per cent during the month.
In contrast, fertiliser production declined 11.7 per cent in September, while natural gas output contracted 4.6 per cent and crude oil production fell 1.4 per cent year-on-year.
