India's industrial output fell at the fastest pace in over six years in September, adding to a series of weak indicators that suggests the country's economic slowdown is deep-rooted and interest rate cuts alone may not be enough to revive growth.
Annual industrial output contracted 4.3% in September, government data showed on Monday. It was the worst performance since a 4.4% contraction in February 2013, according to Refinitiv data.
Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast industrial output to fall 2% for the month.
"A contraction of industrial production by 4.3% in September is serious and indicative of a significant slowdown as both investment and consumption demand have collapsed," said Rupa Rege Nitsure, chief economist of L&T Finance Holdings.
The industrial output figure is the latest in a series of worrying economic data in Asia's third largest economy.
Earlier in the day, a government data showed that India's power demand fell at the fastest pace in at least 12 years in October, signalling a continued decline in the industrial output. Electricity has about 8% weighting in the country's index for industrial production.
The South Asian country needs electricity to fuel its expanding economy but a third decline in power consumption in as many months points to tapering industrial activity in a nation that aims to become a $5 trillion economy by 2024. Economists say that weak series of data could mean economic growth for July-September period will remain near April-June quarter levels of 5%, which was a six-year low. The Indian government is likely to release April-September economic growth figures by the end of this month.
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