New Delhi: India’s consumption of petroleum products such as diesel, petrol and LPG recorded a significant increase in April this year, reflecting the rising level of economic activity in the country.
India’s diesel consumption rose to 8.24 million tonnes in April, which is the second highest monthly consumption ever, as demand from the agricultural and transport sectors grew during the month, according to data compiled by the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC). The 4 per cent year-on-year growth came on the back of a high base in April 2024, when diesel consumption had surged by double digits due to the electoral campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls.
The high growth in the consumption of diesel, which constitutes close to 40 per cent of fuel sales, reflects the higher economic activity in both the farm and logistics sectors of the economy. The fuel is also consumed in the industrial and mining sectors, which also account for part of the growth.
Similarly, petrol consumption registered a growth of 4.6 per cent to 3.44 million tonnes in April. Petrol consumption last year had soared by 19 per cent due to hectic campaigning carried out by various political parties in the Lok Sabha elections. The growth comes on a high base as vehicle sales have been on the rise in a growing economy.
LPG consumption also recorded a significant 6.7 per cent growth during the month to 2.62 million tonnes, as the Centre’s Ujjwala scheme brought the fuel within the reach of poor families. Besides, commercial consumption of the fuel in hotels and restaurants has also gone up.
The figures also show that the consumption of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) by commercial airlines in April was registered at 7,66,000 tonnes during the month, which represents a 3.25 per cent increase over the same month of the previous year.
Meanwhile, the public sector oil companies on Thursday slashed the price of commercial LPG by Rs 14.50 per 19-kg cylinder while the price of jet fuel for airlines was cut by 4.4 per cent.
The price of ATF was reduced by around Rs 3,954.38 per kilolitre (1,000 litres) to Rs 85,486.80 per kl, which will come as a shot in the arm for commercial airlines such as Air India and IndiGo as fuel accounts for around 30 per cent of their operational costs.
The reduction in fuel prices comes against the backdrop of crude oil prices having fallen to a four-year low in the global market, with the benchmark Brent crude hovering at around $63 a barrel, the lowest since April 2021.
