NEW DELHI: India’s diesel consumption fell 13% and petrol sales slipped 5% in July sequentially from a month ago in spite of a sharp uptick in automotive sales as monsoon dampened demand by reducing farm sector offtake and impacting inter-state movement of goods and passengers in several parts of the country.
But the good news for refiners and fuel retailers is that the consumption of both fuels remained well above the pre-pandemic levels, underlining the seasonality of the dip.
According to industry data, diesel sales in July were 5% and petrol sales 16% higher than the same month of 2019. Compared to July 2021, diesel and petrol consumption was up 17.7% and 12%, respectively.
