Six key infrastructure industries saw growth decline to 4.3 per cent in July from 7.2 per cent a year ago, but the numbers were better compared with the month-ago performance of 3.4 per cent.

Crude oil was the worst performer in the grouping, with a negative growth of three per cent in July this year against a positive trend in the comparable month of last fiscal.

Growth in finished steel was a poor 1.9 per cent during the month under review against 10.8 per cent the previous year, while petroleum refinery products posted a sterling growth of 11.8 per cent.

For the April-July period of the current fiscal, the core infrastructure industries grew by 3.7 per cent against 6.6 per cent in the same period last year.

The core grouping of infrastructure industries carry a weightage of 26.68 per cent on the Index of Industrial Production and could in turn impact economic growth, which has already been projected to slow down to 7.7 per cent this fiscal by the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council.