Industrial production contracts 1.6 per cent in May, much below estimates

India's industrial production unexpectedly contracted 1.6 per cent in May from a year earlier, government data showed on Friday.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected output to grow 1.6 per cent annually. April's output growth was revised down to an annual 1.9 per cent from 2.3 per cent earlier.

The manufacturing sector, which constitutes about 76 per cent of industrial production, shrank 2 per cent from a year earlier, the statistics office said.

Capital goods production, a barometer for investments in the economy, contracted an annual 2.7 per cent in May from a year earlier.

Copyright: Thomson Reuters 2013