At 1.5%, industrial growth slows to 10-mth low in June

NEW DELHI: Industrial output growth slowed to a 10-month low in June, dragged down by a contraction in mining and electricity sectors and sluggish capital goods and consumer durables segments.Data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Monday showed the index of industrial production (IIP) rose an annual 1.5% in June, slower than the upwardly revised 1.9% in May and below the 4.9% recorded in June last year.

The mining sector contracted 8.7% in June compared with a growth of 10.3% in June last year, and the electricity sector fell 2.6% during the month compared to a growth of 8.6% in June last year.The manufacturing sector remained resilient, rising 3.9% during June compared to a growth of 3.5% in June last year.Experts attributed the slowdown to excess rains which had weighed on mining and electricity sectors."Excess rains in the second half of June 2025 are likely to have weighed on mining output, while also leading to a contraction in electricity generation, although the extent of the same narrowed compared to the previous month.

Encouragingly, the growth in manufacturing output improved to 3.9% in June 2025 from 3.2% in May 2025," said Aditi Nayar, chief economist at ratings agency Icra.The data also showed weakness in other segments of the industrial sector. The capital goods sector, a key gauge of industrial activity, remained sluggish during the month, rising by 3.5% in June compared to a growth of 3.6% in June last year.The consumer durables sector slowed in June, rising by 2.9% compared to a growth of 8.8% in June last year while the consumer non-durables sector contracted by 0.4% during the month compared to a decline of 1% in June last year."On the demand side, signals remain mixed. Output of consumer non-durables goods continued to remain weak, staying in the contractionary zone for five consecutive months, while output of consumer durable goods improved. Urban consumption, in particular, remains lagging," said Rajani Sinha, chief economist at ratings agency CareEdge.