-
India’s fuel consumption shrinks 0.6% in March as petcoke use falls
Fuel consumption in India, a proxy for oil demand, fell by a marginal 0.6 per cent on an annual basis in March due to reduced petroleum coke use, as data released by the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) has shown. Consumption of fuel totalled 21.09 million tonnes (mt) in March, down from 21.22 mt in March 2023.
For FY24 (2023-24), fuel consumption rose by 4.6 per cent. However, this was lower than the 10.57 per cent rise seen in FY23.
Oil demand usually picks up from late February onwards and rises in tandem with the temperature in India. For instance, consumption rose by 13.7 per cent in March, on a sequential basis. Sales of diesel, the most used fuel in the country, rose 3 per cent to 8.03 mt in March. In the last 12 months, sales had reached an all-time high of 8.21 mt in May 2023
Petrol sales also reached a four-month high, rising 5.1 per cent to 3.14 mt in October. Sales had stood at 2.99 mt in the same month of the previous year. Other major categories also saw rising sales.
The monthly numbers were pulled down by the lower consumption of petcoke, a by-product created by the refining of bitumen into crude oil. Used in the manufacturing of steel, glass, paint, and fertilisers, petcoke usage fell 16.8 per cent in March to 1.63 mt.
Share This
