NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India’s industrial output in February was its weakest since August 2024, hurt by slowing manufacturing and mining sector growth, government data released on Friday showed.
Industrial output grew 2.9% year-on-year in February, missing the 4% growth expected by economists polled by Reuters. Industrial output declined 0.1% in August.
The growth rate was revised to 5.2% in January, from the initial estimate of 5%.
Manufacturing output advanced 2.9% in February, electricity generation grew 3.6% and mining activity rose 1.6%, data showed.
These sectors had grown by a revised 5.8%, 2.4% and 4.4%, respectively, in the previous month.
In the April-February period, industrial output increased by 4.1%.
The deceleration was broad-based, with all the use-based categories and two of the three sectors barring electricity witnessing slower growth in February compared to the previous month, said ICRA economist Aditi Nayar.
“While the growth performance of mining is expected to deteriorate in March 2025 relative to February 2025, this is likely to be offset by an uptick in electricity generation, amid steady manufacturing growth,” she said.
Industries globally are reeling under uncertainty over U.S. import tariffs, which could worsen the outlook for the manufacturing sector and weigh on economic growth.
Earlier this week, India’s central bank cut its growth forecast for the current year by 20 basis points to 6.5% but economists say growth could fall even further amid the global turmoil.
(Reporting by Sarita Chaganti Singh; Editing by Varun H K)
