monsoon With the advent of diesel, petrol for agriculture and reduced demand for petrol and reduced traffic activity, sales of these auto fuels have declined in the first fortnight of June. This information has been obtained from industry statistics. Demand for diesel, the country’s most consumed fuel, declined 6.7 per cent year-on-year to 3.43 million tonnes in the first fortnight of June. Earlier, diesel sales had increased by 6.7 percent in April and 9.3 percent in May due to increased demand from the agricultural sector. On a monthly basis, diesel sales grew by 3.4 per cent in the first fortnight of June.

3.8% decline in sales on monthly basis

During May 1 to 15, the sale of diesel was 33.1 lakh tonnes. Petrol sales fell 5.7 percent year-on-year to 1.3 million tonnes from June 1 to 15. Its sales fell by 3.8 percent on a month-on-month basis. Petrol and diesel sales had picked up since the second fortnight of March on increased industrial and agricultural activities. But the arrival of monsoon has brought down the temperature and diesel sales declined in the first fortnight of June due to reduced use of diesel gensets for farm irrigation and reduced consumption in tractor-trucks. Petrol consumption during June 1 to 15 was 44.2 percent higher than June 2021 in the COVID-19 pandemic and 14.6 percent higher than pre-pandemic June 1 to 15, 2019. Diesel consumption was higher by 38 per cent as compared to June 1 to 15, 2021 and by 8.8 per cent as compared to the first fortnight of June, 2019. With the aviation sector continuing to be active, air travel levels in India at airports are nearing pre-Covid levels.

Fuel demand in the country had increased in the last few months

According to the data, aviation fuel (ATF) demand rose 2.6 per cent year-on-year to 290,000 tonnes in the first fortnight of June. This is 148 percent more than the figures for June 1-15, 2021, but 6.8 percent less than June 1-15, 2019. Aviation fuel demand declined by 3.9 per cent from 3,01,900 tonnes for May 1-15, 2023. The Indian economy has gained momentum after a boom in public and private capital investment. The manufacturing sector has also boomed while the service sector has strengthened. Officials said fuel demand in the country was being supported by strong industrial activity in the past few months. The sale of cooking gas LPG decreased by 1.3 percent year-on-year to 1.14 million tonnes from June 1 to 15. LPG consumption is 3.3% higher than June 1-15, 2021 and 26.7% higher than the pre-Covid figure June 1-15, 2019. On a monthly basis, LPG gas demand fell by 6.2 per cent. The demand for LPG was 1.22 million tonnes on May 1-15, 2023.

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