Dec. core output peaks 7 months

• India’s eight core infrastructure sectors recorded a seven-month high in output in December 2024, despite a slight year-on-year growth.

• Seven of these sectors, which account for 40% of India’s industrial production, showed improvement over December 2023 levels.

• Crude oil saw a minor 0.6% uptick, while natural gas production fell for the sixth consecutive month.

• All eight segments posted higher production than November, with coal, steel, and cement output at their highest levels since March 2024.

• The Index of Core Industries (ICI) was at 167.6 points, 6.75% over November, and the highest level since May’s 168.2 score.

• In November 2024, six core sectors clocked sequential declines, with only refinery products and coal recording an uptick over October.

• For the first nine months of 2024-25, core sectors recorded a growth of just 4.2%, almost half the 8.3% rise over the same period of 2023-24.