NEW DELHI: India’s petrol consumption spiked 9.5% in the first fortnight of December from a year ago but diesel demand still ran 5% short of the pre-pandemic days, indicating the economy is yet to come out of the woods.
Data shows diesel sales of public sector retailers, who command about 90% of the market, rose 1.6% in the first fortnight of December from the same period of November.
Diesel consumption, one of the barometers of economic activity, had fallen 7% from the year-ago period in November after shooting past the prepandemic level for the first time in eight months in October, clocking a 6% year-on-year growth. In contrast, petrol demand jumped more than 9.5% over the year-ago period on the back of a 4% increase in passenger car sales in November.
