India's Core Sector Slowdown Hits Nine-Month Low

In May 2025, India's core sector growth dropped to 0.7%, marking the lowest rate in nine months. This follows a negative trend since August 2024. Despite positive outputs in refinery and cement sectors, crude oil, natural gas, fertilizer, and electricity all registered negative growth.

India's core sectors witnessed a significant drop in growth, hitting a low of 0.7% in May 2025, the weakest performance recorded in the past nine months. This data was confirmed by the latest government release on Friday.

The previous low was observed in August 2024, where the sector recorded a contraction of 1.5%. This continuous downward trend raises concerns about the nation's infrastructure development.

In May, sectors such as crude oil, natural gas, fertiliser, and electricity saw negative growth, while refinery products and cement offered a glimmer of positivity. Overall, the April-May fiscal period saw a minimal expansion of 0.8% compared to 6.9% during the same timeframe last year.

(With inputs from agencies.)