NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Gasoline and gasoil sales by Indian state refiners rose sharply in September from a year earlier, signalling a pick-up in industrial activity ahead of the festive season from this month, preliminary sales data showed.
Local fuel demand – a proxy for oil demand in Asia’s third largest economy – regularly slows during the four-month monsoon season from June.
State-refiners’ average daily gasoline sales rose 1.3% from August and was up 13.2% from a year earlier, the data showed.
Sales of gasoil in local markets increased by 4.6% from the previous month and by 22.6% from a year ago, the data shows.
India’s gasoil consumption, which accounts for about two-fifths of the country’s fuel demand, typically increases during the month-long festival season that ends with the celebration of Diwali as diesel-guzzling trucks hit the road and industrial activity gathers pace.
State retailers Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd own about 90% of the country’s retail fuel outlets.
Below is a table of India’s preliminary daily fuel sales data with volumes in thousand tonnes.
Refined Fuel Sept.2022 % Chg from Aug. %Chg yr/yr %Chg vs 2020
Gasoline 88.6 1.3 13.2 20.7
Gasoil 199.7 4.6 22.6 23.7
Jet Fuel 18.2 7.4 41.7 81.3
Liquefied 83.0 7.7 5.4 9.3
Petroleum Gas
(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; editing by Richard Pullin)
