New Delhi: India’s fuel demand slipped to its lowest in over two years in September after a fall in diesel and industrial fuel consumption negated the rise in petrol and LPG consumption.
Consumption of petroleum products in September dropped to 16.01 million tonne, its lowest since July 2017, from 16.06 million tonne in the same month last year, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC).
Diesel, the most used fuel in the country, saw demand drop by 3.2 per cent to 5.8 million tonne, while naphtha sales were down by a quarter to 844,000 tonnes.
Bitumen, used in road construction, too saw consumption drop by 7.3 per cent to 343,000 tonne. Fuel oil sales edged 3.8 per cent lower in September to 525,000 tonnes.
These downward trends negated the rise in cooking gas (LPG) and petrol demand. The sale of petrol rose 6.2 per cent to 2.37 million tonne, but sale of jet fuel or ATF fell 1.6 per cent to 6,66,000 tonnes.
LPG consumption surged six per cent to 2.18 million tonne on the back of government’s push for the use of cleaner fuel in household kitchens in rural areas in place of firewood to check pollution and safeguard the health of women.
Kerosene, which is fast being replaced by LPG and natural gas as a cooking medium, saw demand fall almost 38 per cent to 176,000 tonne. Petroleum coke consumption was however 18 per cent higher at 1.73 million tonne.
PTI