India’s fuel demand falls in July as monsoon sets in

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ India’s demand for petrol and diesel fell in the first half of July over the previous month as the onset of monsoon chipped away consumption in some sectors and restricted mobility, preliminary industry data showed on Sunday.

Diesel, the most widely used fuel in the country, saw consumption drop 13.7 per cent during July 1-15 to 3.16 million tonnes from 3.67 million tonnes demand in the same period of the previous month.

The arrival and intensity of monsoon weighs heavily on diesel demand in the country and consumption traditionally is lower in July-September than in April-June. Floods restrict mobility and demand from the farm sector, which uses diesel in irrigation pumps and trucking, also drops with the onset of rains.

Diesel demand was however almost 27 per cent higher year-on-year, supported by strong economic growth and a relatively low baseline for the same period in 2021 when a second wave of COVID-19 had impacted the economy.

Consumption of diesel was 43.6 per cent higher than the 2.2 million tonnes demand during July 1 to 15 of 2020. It was 13.7 per cent more than pre-COVID July 2019, the data showed.