Fuel demand grows 5.4% in May; petrol, diesel sales surge

Oil demand had plunged 5.9 per cent in January, the most in 13 years, after the shock demonetisation of high-value currency notes in November

India's oil demand bounced back in May, surging 5.4 per cent on the back of highest growth in petrol consumption in nine months and the fastest rise in diesel usage since November.

Fuel consumption in May stood at 17.79 million tons as compared to 16.87 million tons in the same month a year back, according to the Oil Ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell.

Demand for diesel, which accounts for about 40 per cent of total sales, expanded 8 per cent to 7.51 million tons.

Petrol consumption was up 15.3 per cent at 2.4 million tons, the fastest since August.

Cooking gas or LPG sales were up 11.6 per cent to 1.78 million tons while naphtha consumption was down 1.2 per cent to 1.07 million tons.

Sales of bitumen, used for making roads, fell 6.9 per cent to 637,000 tons, while fuel oil use edged down 2 per cent to 597,000 tons in May.

Petcoke consumption was up 5.2 per cent to 2 million tons.

Oil demand had plunged 5.9 per cent in January, the most in 13 years, after the shock demonetisation of high-value currency notes in November. Demand fell 3.1 per cent in February and 0.7 per cent in March before rebounding in April.

Photograph: Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters