Petrol, diesel sales rise as cropping season picks up

India’s fuel demand rose in March as a pick-up in agriculture activity helped reverse a slowdown that was witnessed in the first half of the month, preliminary industry data showed on Sunday.

Fuel sales soared to the highest levels in February on the back of robust demand from the agriculture sector as well as transport picking up after the winter lull. But a seasonal slowdown kicked in during the first half of March.

However, there was a pick-up in the second half, which helped sales rise even month-on-month despite the high base of February. Petrol sales rose 5.1 per cent to 2.65 million tonne in March when compared with the same period of last year.