Industrial output in India misses expectations

NEW DELHI, Apr 28 (Reuters): India's industrial output in March missed economists' expectations amid a quicker data release and slower mining activity, but rebounded from a six-month low in the previous month, government data showed on Monday.

Industrial output grew 3 per cent year-on-year in March, compared to the 3.3 per cent growth expected by economists polled by Reuters and a revised 2.7 per cent in February.

Mining activity rose at a slower pace of 0.4 per cent compared to 1.6 per cent a month earlier, the data showed. Manufacturing output advanced 3 per cent in March against a revised 2.8 per cent in the previous month, while electricity generation grew 6.3 per cent from 3.6 per cent in February.

Earlier this month, India decided to release its industrial output growth numbers on the 28th of every month, cutting down on the previous 42-day gap between data releases.

The data's early release may have dampened estimated growth and could undergo a relatively larger revision later, Aditi Nayar, an economist at ICRA, said.

Consumer durables output, which includes household appliances and vehicles, rose 6.6 per cent in March against a revised 3.7 per cent jump in February.