The output of eight core sector industries has contracted by 0.6 per cent in October due to poor showing by coal, oil and gas sectors. The decline in output of eight core sector industries – coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity – follows a robust 8 per cent growth in September. According to the data released by the government today, the output of eight infrastructure industries in April-October was a mere 2.6 per cent against 6.8 per cent in the same period of the last fiscal. The eight core industries have a combined weight of about 38 per cent in the Index for Industrial Production.