Last December, the craze for traveling during holidays peaked among Indians. The effect was that travel during the holidays boosted demand and sales of petrol and diesel became strong in December. Petrol and diesel consumption in India increased in December 2024. This was revealed by preliminary data from state-owned fuel retailers on Wednesday, PTI reported. Petrol sales of the three state-run companies, which control 90 percent of the fuel market, rose 9.8 percent to 2.99 million tonnes in December, compared to 2.72 million tonnes in the same month last year. Diesel demand increased 4.9 percent to 7.07 million tonnes during the month.
Growth seen in diesel consumption
According to the news, petrol sales had seen a year-on-year increase in recent months, while diesel sales have declined since the monsoon. November was the first month when diesel consumption saw growth and this trend continued in December as well. This is the second consecutive month when auto fuel consumption has recorded impressive growth. In November, petrol demand increased by 8.3 percent year-on-year and diesel consumption increased by 5.9 percent.
Air and rail travel boosted fuel sales
Road travel as well as air and rail travel boosted fuel sales during the holiday season in the second half of December. Additionally, demand for fuel in the agriculture sector due to sowing of Kharif crop also played a role in the growth. Petrol and diesel sales have been slow during the monsoon months as rains reduced vehicle movement and demand from the agricultural sector. However, after the rains subsided, the demand for petrol increased, but the consumption of diesel remained low year-on-year. However, month-on-month petrol sales in December 2024 were down 3.6 per cent compared to consumption of 3.1 million tonnes in November 2024.
Diesel is India’s most consumed fuel
Diesel demand was 1.7 percent lower than consumption at 7.2 million tonnes in November 2024. Diesel is India’s most consumed fuel, accounting for about 40 percent of all petroleum product consumption. The transport sector accounts for 70 percent of the total diesel sales in the country. Petrol consumption during December was 8.4 per cent higher than December 2022, and 27.9 per cent higher than Covid-affected December 2020. Diesel demand was 3.2 percent lower than December 2022, but 48.7 percent higher than December 2020. Jet fuel (ATF) sales increased 6.8 percent year-on-year to 696,400 tonnes during December 2024. This was up 5.2 percent month-on-month compared to 661,700 tonnes of fuel sold in November.
LPG sales increased in December 2024
Like petrol and diesel, demand for ATF is now above pre-Covid levels. ATF consumption was 12.1 per cent higher than December 2022, but 40.8 per cent lower than December 2020. Cooking gas LPG sales grew 5.2 per cent year-on-year to 2.87 million tonnes in December 2024. LPG consumption was 5.7 per cent higher than December 2022, but 14.8 per cent lower than December 2020.
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