Eye on core sectors growth in May; and fiscal deficit data

India’s fiscal deficit during April and May stands at USD 33.92 billion (Rs 2222.77 billion). The fiscal deficit is almost 42.9 per cent of the budgeted target of the current financial year. The deficit for the same period remained 37.5 per cent.

The core sector growth data is lowest in year 2016 till date. The eight core sectors have increased by 2.8 per cent on yearly basis in May, and have slowed from 8.5 per cent in April. The slowdown was led by weakness in output in the crude oil and natural gas sectors, which reduced 3.3 per cent and 6.9 per cent, respectively. Petroleum refinery output growth has remained weak at 1.2 per cent; while cement, steel and electricity generation growth stands at 2.4 per cent, 3.2 per cent and 4.6 per cent respectively.

Sectors that have grown strongly were coal, up by 5.5 per cent and fertilisers, which increased by 14.8 per cent. The eight sectors make up about 38 per cent of the index of industrial production (IIP) benchmark.