India industrial output up by 10.3 pct

MUMBAI: India's factory output rose 10.3 percent in October from a year earlier as stimulus measures and domestic demand pushed Asia's third-largest economy into its 10th straight month of industrial expansion.

Manufacturing output grew 11.1 percent, rebounding from a 0.6 percent contraction last October, according to government figures released Friday. Consumer durables production shot up 21 percent and capital goods production rose 12.2 percent.

The government also revised its number for September industrial output growth to 9.6 percent from 9.1 percent.

Low output this time last year, as India struggled with the fallout of the global financial crisis, helped boost performance. In October 2008, industrial output was just 0.1 percent higher than the prior October.

Economists said October output was 2.3 percent lower than September's, on a seasonally adjusted basis, partly because of the festive season, which cut into working days.