15:25
India's petrol and diesel consumption rose sharply in August from a year earlier, while liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) demand registered a steep decline, according to provisional data from the ministry of petroleum and natural gas' Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC).
LPG consumption fell 16.15 per cent year-on-year to 2.42 million tonnes (mt) in August from 2.89 mt during the same period a year ago. Since the onset of the West Asia crisis in late February, India's LPG consumption has remained under pressure due to the country's heavy dependence on imported LPG and shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
The government has introduced measures to reduce LPG dependence, including incentives for city gas distributors (CGDs) to expand domestic piped natural gas (PNG) connections and encouraging LPG consumers to shift to PNG subject to accessibility.
Amid supply disruptions and tighter availability during the crisis, these measures have contributed to the sharp decline in LPG consumption seen in recent months.
Petrol consumption rose 7.88 per cent Y-o-Y to 3.82 mt in August, from 3.54 mt in the year-ago period.
Diesel, the country's largest-selling petroleum product, saw consumption rise 6.46 per cent to 7.00 mt, from 6.58 mt a year ago.
The growth in petrol demand was supported by deficient rainfall, which enabled greater movement on roads, while travellers increasingly preferred road transport over flights for shorter-distance journeys, a government official said.
Diesel demand benefited from a lower base in the year-ago period, along with continued economic activity -- including demand from manufacturing, freight movement and agriculture. Strong GDP growth also supported diesel consumption in August.
Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) demand was up by 1.4 per cent to 720,000 tonnes in August from 710,000 tonnes year-on-year.
-- Shubhangi Mathur, Business Standard
