By Nidhi Verma
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian state fuel retailers’ gasoil and gasoline sales during July 1-16 declined from the same period in the previous month, preliminary data showed, as widespread heavy rain upended travel demand.
Daily sales of gasoil fell by 19.7% to about 2.96 million metric tons in July compared with June, the data showed.
Fuel demand in the world’s third-biggest oil importer and consumer typically drops during the four-month monsoon season that begins in June as parts of the country are hit by heavy floods.
Demand from the agriculture sector also gets affected in this period due to fewer irrigation-related requirements.
State retailers’ gasoil sales were further hit as private refiner Reliance Industries Ltd is selling the fuel at cheaper rates.
Gasoil accounts for about two-fifths of India’s overall refined fuel consumption and is directly linked to industrial activity in Asia’s third-largest economy.
State fuel retailers’ daily gasoline sales were down by 10.8% month-on-month in July at around 1.26 million metric tons, the data showed.
State-run retailers and refiners – Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum – own about 90% of India’s retail fuel outlets.
Below is a table of Indian state refiners’ preliminary daily fuel sales data with volumes in thousand tons.
Refined fuels July 1-16 %Chg %Chg %Chg vs
2023 mth/mth yr/yr 2021
Gasoline 1258.4 -10.8 -10.5 12.5
Gasoil 2961.6 -19.7 -14.9 10.1
Jet Fuel 301.8 -6.7 6.1 101.1
Liquefied Petroleum Gas 1275.5 3.8 -6.3 6.0
(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Sohini Goswami)
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