Core industries growth slows to 5.4% in July as iron ore, power ease | Economy & Policy News

Growth in India’s nine core sectors decelerated to 5.4 per cent in July from an upwardly revised 6 per cent in June in the second print of a revamped Index of Core Industries (ICI) with a new base year of 2022-23, as a sharp deceleration in iron ore and electricity outweighed a turnaround in refinery products and a pick-up in coal and cement, according to provisional data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Thursday.

The reading marked the second of a new series, which replaces the earlier 2011-12 series and widens the basket to nine sectors from eight with the addition of iron ore.

The overall index rose further to 121.2 in July from 120.7 in the previous month.

Electricity, which has the highest weight of 30.9 per cent in the index, saw its growth rate fall to 9 per cent from 11.4 per cent in the preceding month.

Iron ore, which carries a weight of 4.9 per cent in the nine-sector index, remained the single largest driver of the slowdown in the headline print, with growth more than halving to 29.5 per cent in July from 44.5 per cent in June.

Data showed that six of the nine sectors registered positive growth during the month, with iron ore, electricity, cement, steel, refinery products and coal in positive territory, while natural gas, crude oil and fertilisers contracted.

Notably, refinery products reversed their trajectory, moving out of the red after three consecutive months of contraction. The sector registered growth of 2.7 per cent in July compared with -4 per cent in June.

Cumulatively, the index grew 4.3 per cent during April-July 2026, compared with 1.5 per cent in the corresponding period a year earlier.