A new month of the year, May, kicked off by state-owned firms showcasing a rise in petrol sales but a dip in diesel in April.
India’s petrol consumption soared 12.3 per cent, while Diesel demand dropped 2.3 per cent.
Reason for rise in petrol sales
Sales of petrol by state-run fuel retailers, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), which serve 90% of the market, rose to 2.97 million tonnes in April compared to 2.65 million tonnes of consumption in the same period last year.
The reasons cited for such a boom are the robust vehicle sales, as passenger vehicles sold in India are currently petrol-powered, and the increase in the use of personal vehicles due to a price cut, crop harvesting season, and the onset of summer.
Additionally, the general election season has contributed a little extra as campaigning for the ongoing election, which increases mobility, also contributes to higher demand.
On the contrary, demand for diesel has reduced despite the consumption of automobiles largely driven by diesel, which is used extensively for campaigning. Diesel, the most consumed fuel in the country, which accounts for about two-fifths of the demand, dropped 2.3 per cent to 7 million tonnes.
Sale statistics in the past
As compared to March, petrol sales numbers have improved this month. he Month-on-month petrol sales dropped 5.3 per cent compared to 2.82 million tonnes of consumption in March.
However, diesel demand was 4.4 per cent higher month-on-month than 6.7 million tonnes last month- March 2024.
In comparison to COVID times, petrol consumption during April 2024 was 15.3 percent more than in April 2022. Further, the 2024 sales were 56.5 percent more than the April 2020 demand.
Diesel demand was up 4.4 per cent over April 2022 and 22.1 per cent compared to April 2020.
Thus, petrol consumption has consistently shown a year-on-year rise and diesel consumption has fluctuated, rising in one month and falling in another.
Sale of other fuels
Cooking gas, LPG sales fell 2.7 per cent year-on-year to 2.19 million tonnes in April. LPG consumption was 9 per cent higher than in April 2022.
Demand for jet fuel rose 7% but was 2 per cent lower compared to March. Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) consumption was 27.2 per cent more than in April 2022.