Industrial production for April rises 4.2%
India's industrial output rose 4.2 percent year-on-year in April, data from the Ministry of Statistics identified. Analysts in a poll had forecast an increase of 1.8 percent. In March, growth in output was revised to 1.7 percent from 1.1 percent. Production, which accounts for about 17 percent of the Indian economy, rose 4.9 percent year-on-year in April compared with a provisional 0.5 percent year-on-year growth reported in March.
Electricity generation during April fell 1.1 percent over the same period a year earlier, while mining activities increased 5.1 percent, the data showed. In the month of March, electricity generation provisionally fell by 1.6 percent, while mining activities provisionally increased by 6.8 percent.
Consumer durables fell 3.5 percent year-on-year in April, after a decline of 8.4 percent in the previous month. "Negative growth for consumer durables is surprising given this is the post-Rabi harvest season when demand typically picks up," said Madan Sabnavis, an economist at Bank of Baroda.
Infrastructure or construction goods grew 12.8 percent year-on-year in April, while consumer non-durables showed a growth of 10.7 percent as compared to last year. Capital goods grew 6.2 percent year-on-year during the month. Performance of key economic indicators in May improved over the previous month, said Rahul Agarwal, an economist at ICRA, adding industrial production growth should range between 4 percent and 6 percent in May.
