Diesel demand growth gathers pace, petrol holds steady in April

NEW DELHI: The growth in diesel and petrol sales gathered pace in April on the back of farm sector demand on the back of demand from the farm sector and higher use of personal vehicles for commuting, latest industry data shows.Diesel sales grew almost 2.9% during the month from a year ago, driven by higher use of farm equipment such as tractors and trucks for harvesting and transporting the Kharif crop. Sequentially, the growth was sharper at 7.2% over March when sales grew less than 1%, data shows.Petrol sales posted an increase of 3.9% compared to April 2024, maintaining the pace seen in March as people preferred to use personal vehicles for commuting amid rising temperature. Sequentially, the sales grew at 4.6% over March when consumption had jumped 10.8%.Jet fuel sales grew at 2.5% from a year ago but not enough to come out of negative territory on a month-on-month basis. Same was the case with LPG, which posted annual growth of 6.7% but fell into the negative territory at -4.3%.Government data for 2024-25 released last month pegged diesel demand growth at just about 2% in 2024-25, the slowest since the pandemic, while the pace of expansion in overall POL — petroleum, oil and lubricants — consumption more than halved from 5% in 2023-24.