India’s economy expanded at a faster rate in the three months to September, led by manufacturing and financial services, and exceeded China’s expansion during the same period.
Data came as the Reserve Bank of India is set to announce its policy decision on Tuesday. The central bank is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged after cutting them by 50 basis points in September.
Gross domestic product rose 7.4 percent year-on-year following 7 percent growth in the three months to June. Economists had expected 7.3 percent expansion. In the September quarter of 2014, growth was 8.4 percent.
While China’s growth eased marginally in the third quarter to 6.9 percent, the economy expanded more-than-expected on the back of strong service sector performance. The latest figure was only slightly below the government’s target of about 7 percent.
India’s gross value added measure grew 7.4 percent in the three months to September, which was faster than 7.1 percent in the previous quarter.
In GVA terms, manufacturing growth accelerated to 9.3 percent from 7.2 percent. Utility sector output growth surged to 6.7 percent from 3.2 percent. Financial services sector growth improved to 9.7 percent from 8.9 percent.
Growth in the farm sector improved modestly to 2.2 percent from 1.9 percent. Meanwhile, construction growth slowed sharply to 2.6 percent from 6.9 percent. Growth in the hospitality, transport and broadcasting segment eased to 10.6 percent from 12.8 percent.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com