Petrol, diesel sales fall in Aug as rains ebb demand
Declining Fuel Consumption In India Due To Monsoon Rains
Preliminary data from state-owned companies revealed that the consumption of petrol and diesel in India decreased during the first half of August compared to the previous month and the same period last year. The decline can be attributed to the impact of monsoon rains on the movement of people and the slowdown in industrial operations. Interestingly, this decline in fuel sales marks the second consecutive month of such a trend. It is worth noting that the monsoon season, which lasts for around four months, typically witnesses subdued levels of consumption.
The usage of diesel, which is the most commonly used fuel in the nation making up approximately 40% of the total demand, decreased by 5.7% to 2.67 million tons from August 1 to 15, when compared to the same time last year.
The amount of goods being used decreased significantly by 15 percent during the first half of July, but rebounded during the latter half of the month.
Sales of diesel decreased by 9.5 percent in comparison to the amount of diesel consumed in the first half of July, which was 2.95 million tonnes.
During the monsoon season, there is usually a decrease in the sale of diesel due to reduced demand in the agricultural industry. This is because diesel is commonly used for activities like irrigation, harvesting, and transportation in the agriculture sector. Additionally, the rainy weather hinders vehicular movements, further contributing to the decline in diesel sales.
Diesel usage experienced a significant increase of 6.7 percent in April and 9.3 percent in May due to the growing demand in agriculture and increased usage of air conditioning in cars to withstand the hot summer. However, with the arrival of the monsoon in the latter part of June, the consumption of diesel began to decrease.
During the first two weeks of August, the amount of petrol sold decreased by 8 percent to 1.19 million tonnes, in comparison with the corresponding period in the previous year.
In the initial two weeks of July, there was a decrease of 10.5 percent in consumption, but it rebounded in the second half. The data indicated that sales experienced a decrease of 5.2 percent compared to the previous month.
India's economy has shown incredible strength and is expected to have outperformed most leading economies in the first half of 2023.
According to experts, India's need for oil products is projected to stay robust throughout the rest of the financial year, thanks to consistent and thriving economic activity as well as the ongoing revival of air travel.
The amount of petrol used from August 1st to August 15th increased by 20.6% compared to the first half of August 2021, which was heavily affected by COVID-19. Additionally, it was 25.6% higher than the amount used in August 2019, before the pandemic.
The consumption of diesel saw a significant increase of 26 percent during the first half of August 2021, compared to the same period in 2019, where it recorded a growth of 16.8 percent.
With the continuous increase in the number of people traveling by air, the demand for jet fuel (ATF) went up by 8.1% to reach 290,300 tonnes during the first two weeks of August, in comparison to the corresponding period in the previous year.
The number exceeded the figures from August 2021 by an impressive 66.7 percent, yet it still remained 4.1 percent below the levels seen in August 2019, before the COVID pandemic.
Jet fuel sales for the period of July 1-15, 2023 decreased by 2.1%, as compared to the sales recorded in the previous month.
The sales of LPG, which is a type of cooking gas, increased by 3.7% compared to the same period last year. From August 1 to August 15, a total of 1.21 million tonnes of LPG were sold. The consumption of LPG during this time period was nearly 12% higher than in August 1-15 of the previous year and 11.2% higher than in August 1-15 before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.
The data indicated that there was a 2% decrease in LPG demand compared to the consumption of 1.23 million tonnes of LPG during the first half of July.
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