Fuel consumption in India soared in May as diesel sales hit a record high, buoyed by strong industrial activity in the world’s third-biggest oil consumer.
Last month, India’s industrial production saw its fastest pace of growth since October 2020, at a time when countries in the region such as China, Japan and South Korea have seen their manufacturing companies struggle for a long time.
Sales of diesel, mainly used by trucks and passenger vehicles for commercial use, rose about 5.1% in May to an all-time high of 8.22 million tons from the previous month, according to cMYP data since 1998.
Increased production has boosted buying activity and demand for road transport, said Viktor Katona, senior crude oil analyst at Kpler, adding that diesel demand is also driven by agriculture, particularly rice and wheat, most of which are harvested in April-May.
India’s delayed monsoon is also supporting diesel consumption, which is translating into better overall construction activity, said Katona.
Fuel consumption, an indicator of oil demand, rose to 20.03 million tonnes in May from 18.54 million tonnes in April.
Gasoline, or petroleum, sales rose 16% from the previous month to 3.35 million tonnes.
Sales of cooking gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) increased 9.3% to 2.35 million tonnes and sales of naphtha increased 6.5% to 1.15 million tonnes, according to the data.
2023 2023 2023 2022 2022 2022
May April March May April March
Solar 8.22 7.82 7.80 7.29 7.20 7.70
Gasoline 3.35 2.88 3.11 3.02 2.80 2.91
LPG 2.35 2.15 2.41 2.17 2.16 2.47
Naphtha 1.15 1.08 1.15 0.90 0.97 1.13
Jet fuel 0.67 0.66 0.69 0.60 0.55 0.54
Kerosene 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.07 0.07 0.11
Heating oil 0.57 0.59 0.58 0.54 0.52 0.59
Asphalt 0.73 0.75 0.93 0.70 0.80 0.94
TOTAL 20.03 18.54 20.50 18.26 18.45 19.52
NOTE: Totals may not add up because not all items are included in the table and numbers are rounded off.
