Petrol & diesel sales surge in Feb

New Delhi: India's fuel demand witnessed the sharpest rebound in February as petrol and diesel consumption rose by double digits after a winter lull in the previous month, preliminary industry data showed on Wednesday. Petrol sales of state-owned fuel retailers jumped 12 percent to 2.57 million tonne in February, as compared to 2.29 million tonne of consumption in the same period of last year.

Petrol demand rose by 13.5% in Feb

Sales were 1.57 percent higher than in COVID-marred February 2021 and 20 percent more than in the same period of 2020. On month-on-month basis, the demand rose by 13.5 percent, reversing the dip in the previous month. Sales had fallen 5.1 percent on month-on-month in January as cold conditions cut vehicular movement.

Diesel sales rose by 13% during Feb

Diesel, the most used fuel in the country, posted a 13 percent rise in sales during February to 6.52 million tonne, as compared to the same period last year. Consumption was 12.1 percent higher than February 2021 and 7.7 percent more than the same month of 2020. On month-on-month sales surged by 9.2 percent from 5.97 million tonne in January.

In January, diesel consumption fell by 8.6 percent month-on-month as snowfall in higher reaches halted truck movement. Industry sources said that diesel demand surged as trucks returned to roads and rabi sowing season peaked. Use of the fuel in irrigation pumps and trucking helped build the momentum. January sales were lower on month-on-month also because the previous month had seen a surge in consumption due to vacation travel.

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