India’s fuel consumption declined by 0.6% year-on-year in March, according to preliminary data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry.
However, demand for the 2024 financial year reached a record high, driven primarily by increased sales of automotive fuel and naphtha, Reuters reports.
According to Reuters’ data, total consumption, serving as a proxy for oil demand, amounted to 21.09 million metric tons (4.99 million barrels per day) in March, a slight decrease from 21.22 million tons (5.02 mbpd) recorded in the same period last year.
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Despite the monthly decline, fuel demand for the entire 2024 financial year, ending in March, surged to a record high of 233.276 million tons (4.67 mbpd), compared to 223.021 million tons (4.48 mbpd) in the previous fiscal year.
Sales of diesel, primarily utilized by trucks and commercially operated passenger vehicles, saw a 3.1% year-on-year increase to 8.04 million tons in March and a 4.4% rise for the fiscal year.
Similarly, sales of gasoline in March experienced a 6.9% year-on-year growth to 3.32 million tons and a 6.4% increase for the fiscal year.
Bitumen sales, essential for road construction, remained relatively stable in March but posted a notable 9.9% increase for the fiscal year.
Cooking gas, or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), witnessed an 8.6% rise in sales to 2.61 million tons, while naphtha sales surged by 5.5% to approximately 1.19 million tons compared to the same period last March.
Conversely, the usage of fuel oil declined by 9.7% year-on-year in March and dropped by 6.3% for the entire fiscal year.
