Annual growth drops in Eight Core Industries Index in March

The growth of the combined Index of Eight Core Industries (ICI) contracted in March this year, falling to 0.4% on an annual basis. It had recorded a growth of 2.8% in February. According to data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry, fertilizer production slumped by 24.6%, crude oil production declined by 5.7%, coal production fell by 4%, and electricity generation declined by 0.5% last month on an annual basis. However, Natural Gas production increased by 6.4%, cement production grew by 4%, and steel production increased by 2.2%, while Petroleum Refinery Products production increased marginally by 0.1%. The eight core industries comprise over 40% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production.