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Petrol sales top pre-virus level for first time in 17 months, diesel 11% short
India’s petrol consumption topped the pre-virus level for the first time in 17 months and diesel sales, a key indicator for economic activities, stood just 11 per cent short of the pandemic year in July as the country got back to business after a second Covid wave.
Market data for the month shows state-run fuel retailers, who control 90 per cent of the market, sold 3.5 per cent more petrol than the same period of 2019. Diesel consumption also rose to 89 per cent of the pre-pandemic level.
Compared to last year, petrol sales were 17 per cent higher and diesel consumption 12 per cent. On a monthly basis, July petrol sales was nearly 9 per cent higher than June, while diesel sales fell less than 1 per cent short.
IndianOil chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya expects diesel sales to reach the pre-pandemic level by Diwali but says jet fuel sales will take more time to recover fully.
Jet fuel consumption did show signs of recovery in July, climbing to 53 per cent of the same period of 2019. Sequentially too, July sales were 21 per cent higher than June as more people took to flying. Compared to last year, the sales were 29.5 per cent higher.
Consumption of LPG, or cooking gas supplied in cylinders, too was back on the usual growth track, clocking 7.5 per cent more sales than July 2019. Sequentially too, July sales rose 4 per cent over June and 7.5 per cent from the pre-pandemic year.
The robust recovery in fuel demand in the India, the world’s third-largest oil consumer, will support bullish sentiment in the international crude market.
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