Growth in eight core industries slowed to 1.4 per cent in February this year, due to output decline in five sectors, including crude oil and natural gas. Besides these two, the other three sectors which posted negative growth are refinery products, fertiliser and steel.The output of eight core sector industries coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizer, steel, cement and electricity had expanded by 6.1 per cent in February last year. The core sector contributes 38 per cent to the overall industrial production, a parameter that the Reserve Bank takes into account while framing its monetary policy.According to the data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry, the production of crude oil and natural gas contracted by 1.9 per cent and 8.1 per cent respectively. However, coal, cement and electricity output grew by 11.6 per cent, 2.7 per cent and 5.2 per cent respectively.