Coronavirus: Factory output rose to seven-month high ahead of lockdown

Coronavirus lockdown: Mining and manufacturing grew at 10% and 3.2%, respectively during the month, while electricity generation rose 8.1%.

India’s factory output rose to a seven-month high of 4.5% in February, before the government imposed a nationwide lockdown in March that has crippled normal economic activity.

Migrant workers rest on a railway track during a 21-day nationwide lockdown to slow the spreading of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in in Mumbai, April 2, 2020. (REUTERS)

Mining and manufacturing grew at 10% and 3.2%, respectively during the month, while electricity generation rose 8.1%. Data released earlier showed India’s eight infrastructure sectors which contribute over 40% of the index of industrial production (IIP) touched an 11-month high of 5.5% in February.

Poor show by lead indicators for March such as manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), goods and services tax collections and auto sales, confirm that the coronavirus outbreak has upended an incipient recovery in the Indian economy.

During February, contraction in capital goods (-9.7%) and consumer durables (-6.4%) further deepened, signalling that investment intentions and consumer demand were sluggish even prior to the lockdown.

The items that registered the steepest rise in February include active pharmaceutical ingredients; fragrances and oil essentials; steel pipes and tubes, while the items that dragged down growth were soyabean oil; electric and non-electric meters.