Demand for diesel declines 12.5% over the previous month, petrol 1% lower in July

NEW DELHI: Demand for diesel in July fell 12.5% over the previous month while that for petrol was 1% lower, halting a swift recovery seen in the previous two months as lockdowns in states and high fuel prices dampened sales, industry executives said. Compared with a year ago, diesel was down 21% in July, while petrol fell 11%. The data is for sales by state-run fuel retailers, which control 90% of the market.

Sale of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) rose 3.8% in July from a month earlier but was down 65% from the July of 2019 due to the absence of international flights and limited domestic operations. Sales of liquefied petroleum gas, used mainly as cooking fuel in India, rose 10% month-on-month and were up 3.4% year-on-year.