New Delhi
India’s fuel sales fell in the first half of April as a record rise in prices in a short 16-day period dented demand, preliminary industry data showed on Saturday. Petrol sales fell almost 10 per cent in the first half of April when compared with the same period in the preceding month, while diesel demand slid 15.6 per cent.
Even cooking gas LPG, which had consistently shown growth even during the pandemic period, saw a 1.7 per cent month-on-month fall in consumption during April 1-15.
State-owned oil firms on March 22 ended a 137-day hiatus in rate revision and began passing on a USD 30 per barrel increase in cost of raw material (crude oil) during that period when five states including Uttar Pradesh went to polls.
Petrol and diesel prices rose by Rs 10 per litre between March 22 and April 6 — the highest ever increase during a 16-day period since fuel prices were deregulated two decades back.
On March 22, cooking gas prices too were hiked by Rs 50 per cylinder to Rs 949.50 — the highest-ever rate for the subsidised fuel. Jet fuel prices too climbed to the highest-ever Rs 1,13,202.33 per kilolitre, resulting in a 20.5 per cent fall in sales month-on-month.
In the first two weeks of March, dealers as well as the public topped up their tanks in anticipation of an increase in prices that had been on hold in the run-up to the elections in states like Uttar Pradesh. While daily price revisions restarted on March 22, the increases were calibrated. The price increases moderated the consumption.
Petrol sales by state-owned fuel retailers, which control roughly 90 per cent of the market, at 1.12 million tonnes during April 1-15 were nearly 12.1 per cent higher than the same period last year and 19.6 per cent higher than the period in 2019, preliminary industry data showed.
