India's Aug industrial output jumps 8% as manufacturing output surges

India's industrial output rose 8% year on year in August, according to government data released on Monday, Business Recorder reported. The gain beat the 6.5% forecast from economists polled by Reuters, and it came after a revised 7.4% rise in July.

Manufacturing output grew 9% year on year, while electricity generation climbed 12.3%. Mining activity, however, contracted 5.6% over the same period. The statistics ministry described manufacturing growth of 8% or more over three consecutive months as a record performance.

Output of consumer durables, including cars and phones, rose 11.1%, and capital goods output increased 16.9%. Industrial output for April to August grew 6.7%, compared with 4.2% a year earlier. The government also said factory output is now calculated using producer prices instead of wholesale prices, a change introduced earlier this year.