India recorded mixed fuel demand patterns in October, with petrol sales hitting the strongest level in five months, while diesel consumption failed to register a celebratory rise, according to provisional industry data quoted by PTI.The start of the festival travel period saw gasoline consumption increase to 3.65 million tons during the month. This is an increase of 7% compared to October last year and also higher than the 3.4 million tonnes in September.
Diesel, which accounts for almost 40% of the country’s fuel consumption, did not reflect this trend. Sales amounted to 7.6 million tons in October, slightly lower than the 7.64 million tons recorded in the same month a year earlier.Typically, diesel demand falls during the monsoon months as irrigation needs decrease and transport activity slows, before increasing again from October onwards. The October recovery did not occur this year, marking a deviation from the usual seasonal pattern.The monthly flash report of the Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas shows that while gasoline sales were 16.3% higher than in October 2023, diesel demand remained below the previous year’s level of 7.63 million tonnes.Other fuels continued to show positive momentum. Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) consumption rose 1.6% to 7,69,000 tonnes in October and was 11.11% higher than October last year. Since 2019, demand for ATF has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 1.65%.LPG sales reached nearly 3 million tons in October, up 5.4%, supported by household needs. The government has added 25 lakh new beneficiaries to the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), taking the total number of households covered under the subsidized scheme from 10.33 crore to 10.58 crore.
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