Rama Krishna Sangem
Even after entry of many electrical vehicles of late, India continues to burn petrol and diesel heavily. There is a jump of about 5 per cent in fuel demand in the financial year ending March 31, 2024. India’s fuel consumption declined by 0.6 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in March. However, demand for the 2024 financial year increased by about five per cent, primarily due to higher sales of automotive fuel and naphtha.
Preliminary data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry showed that the total consumption, a proxy for oil demand, stood at 21.09 million metric tonnes (4.99 million barrels per day) in March. This was a slight decrease from 21.22 million tonnes (5.02 mbpd) recorded in the same period last year.
However, fuel demand for the financial year ending in March 2024 reached a record high of 233.276 million tonnes (4.67 mbpd), up from 223.021 million tonnes (4.48 mbpd) the previous year. Diesel sales, primarily used by trucks and commercial passenger vehicles, increased by 3.1 per cent y-o-y to 8.04 million tonnes in March and was up 4.4 per cent for the previous fiscal year.
LPG went up by 8.6 pc
Meanwhile, sales of gasoline in March grew by 6.9 per cent y-o-y to 3.32 million tonnes and were up 6.4 per cent for the fiscal year. Sales of Bitumen, crucial for road construction, remained largely stable in March but saw a 9.9 per cent rise for the fiscal year.
Sales of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), commonly known as cooking gas, increased by 8.6 per cent to reach 2.61 million tonnes, and naphtha sales saw a significant rise of 5.5 per cent to about 1.19 million tonnes, compared to the same period last March.
The usage of fuel oil, on the other hand, experienced a decline of 9.7 per cent y-o-y in March and declined by 6.3 per cent for the fiscal year.
But the days of cheaper oil in the global markets is over. As Russia not only increased its sale price of crude oil to India, the quantum of oil coming from the country too went down. On the other hand, global prices of oil are steadily going up, indicating a possible steep hike in pump prices in India after Lok Sabha elections.
