The growth of eight core sectors slowed to 3.6 per cent in May this year due to fall in output of coal and fertilisers.The growth rate of eight infrastructure sectors including coal, crude oil, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity was 5.2 per cent in May last year. According to data released by Ministry of Commerce and Industry,coal and fertiliser productions recorded negative growth of 3.3 per cent and 6.5 per cent respectively. Steel sector growth dipped to 3.7 per cent last month as against 13.4 per cent in May 2016.Slow growth in key sectors would also have implications on the Index of Industrial Production number as these segments account for about 41 per cent to the total factory output. In April this year, these eight sectors had recorded a growth rate of 2.8 per cent.