India’s April Fuel Consumption Increases By 12.3% While Diesel Drops By 2.3%

India’s early statistics from state-owned enterprises indicated on Wednesday that while the nation was in the midst of intense electioneering for general elections, petrol consumption increased by 12.3% in April while diesel sales declined.

Ninety percent of the fuel market is controlled by three state-owned companies, whose sales of gasoline increased to 2.97 million metric tons in April from 2.65 million tonnes during the same month the previous year.

The demand for diesel fell 2.3% to 7 million tons. The most popular fuel in the country had a 2.7% decline in demand in March.

This is true even though India is about to have national elections and heavily relies on diesel-powered vehicles for campaigning.

While the price cut and the crop harvesting season will increase demand for air conditioning in cars, electioneering also offers hope for reversing the trend in diesel demand. Despite this, gasoline sales were up primarily because more people were using their personal vehicles.

Mid-March saw the conclusion of an almost two-year-long break in rate revisions with a reduction of Rs 2 per liter in the price of gasoline and diesel.

In comparison to the 2.82 million tons of gasoline used in March, month-over-month sales of gasoline fell 5.3%. The demand for diesel, however, increased month over month by 4.4% compared to 6.7 million tons in March.

In India, diesel fuel is the most widely used fuel, making for over 40% of total petroleum product usage. Seventy percent of diesel sales in the nation are attributed to the transportation industry. Additionally, it is the main fuel used in the agricultural industry, particularly in tractors and harvesters.

While the consumption of diesel has fluctuated, increasing in one month and declining in another, the use of gasoline has continuously increased year over year.

The amount of gasoline consumed in April 2022 was 15.3% more than in April 2022 due to COVID-19, and it was 56.5% higher than in April 2020.

The demand for diesel increased by 2.1% from April 2020 to April 2022 and by 4.4% from April 2022 to April 2022.

Sales of jet fuel (ATF) increased 7% annually in April 2024 to 6,56,700 tons. However, this was 2% less than the 6,70,100 tons in March on a month-over-month basis.

Like demand for gasoline and diesel, demand for ATF has firmly beyond pre-Covid levels.

The amount of ATF used was 16.3% greater than in April 2020 and 27.2% more than in April 2022.

In April 2024, sales of LPG for cooking gas increased by 12% year over year to 2.45 million tons. There was a 9% increase in LPG usage compared to April 2022 and a 26.9% increase over April 2020.

According to the report, LPG demand decreased by 8.3% month over month in March compared to the 2.67 million tonnes used.