The FINANCIAL — India’s industrial output expansion may have cooled off in March as infrastructure spending and export growth slowed, economists said, according to Nasdaq.
Industrial production, which includes the output of factories, mines and utilities companies, likely rose 2.8% from a year earlier, according to the median estimate in a poll of 10 economists by The Wall Street Journal. That would be slower than the 5.0% expansion in February. The government is set to release the data Tuesday.
“Car sales are pointing to a good number, the PMI [purchasing managers index] too is looking better, but what has happened to core sector growth will be a dampener,” said D.K. Pant, chief economist at India Ratings.
Government data last week showed the output of eight key infrastructure industries, which together contribute about 38% to industrial production, declined 0.1% from a year earlier in March, the weakest reading in 17 months.
A decline in exports also may have weighed on industrial production, said Aditi Nayar, senior economist at rating firm ICRA. India’s exports fell 21% from a year earlier to $23.95 billion in March, the fourth consecutive month of decline.
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