India: Industrial output grows at fastest pace in a year in May
Industrial output expanded 19.6% in year-on-year terms in May, which followed April’s 6.7% increase. May’s figure marked the strongest expansion since May 2021. The upturn was largely driven by pickups in manufacturing and mining output.
Meanwhile, annual average industrial production growth fell to 6.3% in May (April: +6.6%), which marked a one-year low.
Analysts at the EIU commented on the outlook:
“We expect growth in manufacturing output to be led by sectors such as food products, apparels, leather products, refined petroleum products, chemicals and basic metals. Mining output and construction-related activities will show a deceleration over June and July as the monsoon rains disrupt activity. Demand will continue to be led by the urban section of the population, while rural incomes will recover in the latter half of fiscal year 2022/23 after a good harvest. In view of the latest figures, we have revised up our forecast for industrial growth in 2022 from 5.6% to 7%.”