FxWirePro: Daily Commodity Tracker - 21st March, 2022 
India’s industrial output, as measured by the index of industrial production, fell in April following a below par performance in the manufacturing and mining sectors amid decline in capital goods output that led the downfall.
India’s April IIP fell a sharper 0.8 percent, compared to -0.1 percent in March, data released by the Central Statistics Office showed Friday. Factory output had expanded by three per cent in April last year. The dip in the manufacturing sector in April, which constitutes over 75 per cent of the index, comes after it had recorded a growth of 3.9 per cent in same month last year.
Further the capital goods segment, a barometer of investment demand, contracted 24.9 per cent in April. After the latest data, the capital goods segment has now contracted for six consecutive months. Consumer durables expanded by 11.8 per cent.
During the Jan-March quarter of fiscal 2015-16 bank credit or disbursement of loans of public sector banks grew by a mere 1.4 percent, compared to 7.8 percent in the corresponding quarter of fiscal 2014-15.
However, a better construction sector, better corporate performance for the fourth quarter compared to the last and higher power production have proved positive for the Indian economy. Out of the 22 industries, nine witnessed a fall, led by electrical machinery (-55.9 percent), food products (-24.5 percent) and tobacco products (-17.6 percent). On the other hand, industries such as furniture (28 percent); radio, TV, communication equipment (18.8 percent); and office, accounting and computing machinery (18.7 percent).
Moreover, drought conditions in Maharashtra and Karnataka have added to the slowdown in consumer durables growth over the past two months. According to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers on Thursday, factory output is expected to receive some support from higher sales of utility vehicles, up 36 percent in May, even though car sales dropped by 0.86 percent.
Meanwhile, the government expects gross domestic product growth to cross 8 percent in 2016-17. The Reserve Bank of India, which tracks gross value added at basic prices, said the economy will expand by 7.6 percent in 2016-17 against 7.2 percent in 2015-16.
