Core sectors grow at nine-month low of 0.7% in May, dragged by oil, gas, fertilisers & electricity-OxBig News Network

Growth in the eight core sectors of the economy slowed to a nine-month low of 0.7% in May 2025, driven by contractions in the crude oil, natural gas, fertilisers, and electricity sectors. 

The Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) for May 2025, released on Friday (June 20, 2025) by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, was last lower in August 2024, when it had contracted 1.4%. The growth rate in May also marks two consecutive months of slowing growth in the index.

The eight core industries make up about 40% of the overall Index of Industrial Production, which is a composite index of the industrial performance of the economy.

Within the ICI, the crude oil sector contracted 1.8% in May 2025, the fifth consecutive month of contraction in the sector due to falling global crude oil prices. In connection with this, the refinery products sector grew 1.1% in May, although this was faster than the contraction of 4.5% it saw in April. 

The natural gas sector contracted by 3.6% in May, the eleventh consecutive month of contraction in the sector.

The contraction in the natural gas sector is linked to the performance of the fertiliser sector, which is the biggest consumer of natural gas. The natural gas sector contracted 5.9% in May, compounding a contraction of 4.2% in April.

The electricity sector contracted 5.8% in May, a main reason behind the coal sector’s subdued growth that month of 2.8%, which is down from the 3.5% growth seen in April. 

Notably, the steel sector saw growth accelerating to 6.7% in May from 4.4% in April. This growth was also on a high base of 8.9% in May 2024. 

The cement sector, too, witnessed robust growth of 9.2% in May 2025, although this was on a low base as the sector had contracted 0.6% in May of last year.