India sees diesel demand slowdown

New Delhi: State-run Indian Oil Corp. on Thursday said that diesel consumption grew by around 1% in the first six months of the current financial year. This comes in the backdrop of India’s fuel demand dropping in September amid the domestic economy battling a severe demand slowdown, which has also reduced commercial vehicle traffic on India’s highways.

The tepid demand growth for diesel played out across the Indian fuel retail industry, with diesel demand growing by only 1.05% to 41,296 thousand metric tones (tmt) in the first six months of the current financial year. This comes amid the worst slump in almost two decades for the country’s auto sector that shows no sign of letting up. Energy consumption, especially electricity and refinery products, is usually linked to overall demand in the economy.