State-run retailers’ petrol sales rise 29%, diesel 35%

State-run fuel retailers rushed in to make up for a supply shortage of fuel by private outlets and sold 29% more petrol and 35% more diesel in June over last year, industry executives said.

Monthly sales also look higher due to the low base in June last year when the country was still in the throes of the second wave of the pandemic. Compared to June 2019, sales were 16.5% higher for petrol and 10.5% for diesel, as per the preliminary sales data from state-run oil companies that control 90% of the fuel stations in the country.