Overview

• Steel output jumped 14.2% year over year in August, lifting its April–August cumulative growth to 10.4%.
• Coal production rose 11.4% in August even as its cumulative April–August index remained down 0.7%.
• Cement production increased 6.1% in August, taking cumulative growth to 8.4% for April–August.
• Crude oil contracted 2.2% in August for an eighth straight monthly decline, and natural gas fell 3.2%, leaving cumulative drops of 2.5% and 2.6%, respectively.
• Petroleum refining grew 3.0%, electricity 3.1% and fertilizers 4.6% in August; the eight core industries carry a 40.27% weight in the IIP, shaping near-term industrial readings.