India’s fuel demand: Festive season fuels petrol sales; diesel sees marginal drop in October

India recorded divergent fuel demand patterns in October, with petrol sales touching their strongest level in five months while diesel usage showed no festive lift, according to preliminary industry data, cited by PTI.The beginning of the festival travel period pushed petrol consumption to 3.65 million tonnes during the month. This is a 7% increase from October last year and also higher than September’s 3.4 million tonnes.Diesel, which makes up almost 40% of the country’s fuel usage, did not mirror the trend. Sales stood at 7.6 million tonnes in October, slightly lower than the 7.64 million tonnes recorded in the same month a year earlier.Typically, diesel demand falls during the monsoon months as irrigation needs reduce and transportation activity slows, before picking up from October. The October rebound did not happen this year, marking a deviation from the usual seasonal pattern.The monthly flash report from the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas shows that while petrol sales were 16.3% higher than in October 2023, diesel demand remained below the previous year’s level of 7.63 million tonnes.Other fuels continued to show positive momentum. Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) consumption increased by 1.6% to 7,69,000 tonnes in October, and was 11.11% higher than October last year. Since 2019, ATF demand has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 1.65%.LPG sales nearly touched 3 million tonnes in October, rising 5.4%, supported by household requirements. The government added 25 lakh new beneficiaries to the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), taking total households covered under the subsidised scheme from 10.33 crore to 10.58 crore.