Industrial activity slows to 14-month low in October

Growth in industrial activity, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), fell to a 14-month low in October, per data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Monday. October's IIP print came in at 0.4%, down from 4.6% in September. Ona month-on-month basis, the IIP reading contracted 1.8%, after expanding 1.3% in September.

- Auhona Mukherjee

Of the three broad components of IIP, contractions in electricity and mining and quarrying anda slowdown in manufacturing output brought down the IP reading. A slower growth in October could be due to reduced working days because of the festive season, the NSO press release said.

Manufacturing, which has the highest weightage of 77.6% in the index, grew at 1.8%, down from 5.6% in September. Mining and quarrying, with a weight of 14.4%, contracted 1.8%, quicker than a 0.5% contraction in September. Electricity, having a weight of 8%, contracted significantly by 6.9%, compared to an expansion of 3.1% in September.