India Industrial Output, Exports Decline as Economy Falters

“Indian industrial production unexpectedly fell in September and the trade deficit widened to a record last month as exports declined, adding to signs that Asia’s third-largest economy is struggling.

Output at factories, utilities and mines dropped 0.4 percent from a year earlier after a revised 2.3 percent gain in August, the Central Statistical Office said in a statement in New Delhi today. The median of 28 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey was for a 2.8 percent increase. The trade deficit was $20.96 billion in October, the Commerce Ministry said in a separate report.

Factory production has been subdued for most of this year, hurt by moderating consumer demand and a drop in exports as the global recovery falters. The Reserve Bank of India has signaled it may lower interest rates in the first quarter of 2013 to aid growth as inflation cools, after resisting calls from the Finance Ministry for a cut last month.”

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