MUMBAI, India (AP) India says its industrial output fell by 1.8 percent in October compared to the previous year. The unexpectedly weak results are a blow to hopes for an early recovery in Asia's third-largest economy.
Sharp drops of 2 percent in manufacturing and 3.5 percent in mining contributed to the fall in output released Thursday. The electricity sector grew by 1.3 percent.
Thursday's report followed a 2 percent rise in production in September which had raised hopes the economy might have bottomed out and begun to climb.
India's economy surged by an average of 8 percent for nearly a decade but growth has slowed to less than 5 percent in the past year.
