West Asia crisis drags India’s LPG consumption down 16% in April

New Delhi: India’s Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) consumption saw a steep contraction in April, as supply constraints linked to the West Asia conflict disrupted availability across both household and commercial segments. Consumption dropped to 2.2 million tonnes (MT) during the month, marking a 16.16 percent decline compared to the same period last year, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC). The figure was also lower than March levels, when consumption stood at 2.379 MT.

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Import dependence exposes supply vulnerability

The sharp fall reflects India’s reliance on imports for nearly 60 percent of its LPG requirement, much of which moves through the Strait of Hormuz — a key route affected by the ongoing geopolitical tensions. With supplies from major exporters such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates disrupted, domestic availability tightened, forcing intervention to manage distribution.

Commercial curbs, household rationing introduced

To safeguard household access to cooking gas, authorities restricted supplies to commercial users such as hotels and industrial consumers. At the same time, the gap between LPG refills for households was increased, effectively moderating demand in the retail segment.

These measures contributed to the overall contraction in consumption, even as essential demand remained intact.

Downtrend deepens from March levels

The April decline builds on an earlier slowdown, with LPG consumption having already down 12.8 percent year-on-year in March. This marks a reversal from the steady expansion seen in recent years, when policy support drove a shift from traditional fuels like firewood to LPG.

Broader fuel demand shows mixed trends

The impact of the conflict extended beyond LPG. Jet fuel consumption slipped 1.37 percent year-on-year to 761,000 tonnes in April, reflecting disruptions in air travel due to regional airspace closures. It also declined from 807,000 tonnes recorded in March.

Diesel demand growth weakened significantly, rising just 0.25 percent to 8.282 MT, compared with an 8.1 percent increase in the previous month.

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Petrol consumption continued to grow, increasing 6.36 percent to 3.67 million tonnes, although the pace moderated from March’s 7.6 percent growth.

On a year-on-year basis, diesel consumption remained 4.5 percent higher than April 2024 levels, while petrol demand was up 11.7 percent over the same period.

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