India’s gasoline gross sales fell within the first half of April as a file rise in costs in a brief 16-day interval dented demand, preliminary trade information confirmed on Saturday.
Petrol gross sales fell virtually 10 per cent within the first half of April in comparison with the identical interval within the previous month, whereas diesel demand slid 15.6 per cent.
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Even cooking fuel LPG, which had persistently proven progress even through the pandemic interval, noticed a 1.7 per cent month-on-month fall in consumption throughout April 1-15.
State-owned oil corporations on March 22 ended a 137-day hiatus in price revision and started passing on a USD 30 per barrel enhance in price of uncooked materials (crude oil) throughout that interval when 5 states together with Uttar Pradesh went to polls.
Petrol and diesel costs rose by Rs 10 per litre between March 22 and April 6 — the very best ever enhance throughout a 16-day interval since gasoline costs had been deregulated twenty years again.
On March 22, cooking fuel costs too had been hiked by Rs 50 per cylinder to Rs 949.50 — the highest-ever price for the subsidised gasoline.
Jet gasoline costs too climbed to the highest-ever Rs 1,13,202.33 per kilolitre, leading to a 20.5 per cent fall in gross sales month-on-month.
Within the first two weeks of March, sellers in addition to the general public topped up their tanks in anticipation of a rise in costs that had been on maintain within the run-up to the elections in states like Uttar Pradesh.
Whereas every day worth revisions restarted on March 22, the will increase had been calibrated. The worth will increase moderated the consumption.
Petrol gross sales by state-owned gasoline retailers, which management roughly 90 per cent of the market, at 1.12 million tonnes throughout April 1-15 had been practically 12.1 per cent greater than the identical interval final 12 months and 19.6 per cent greater than the interval in 2019, preliminary trade information confirmed.
The consumption was, nevertheless, 9.7 per cent decrease than the 1.24 million tonnes gross sales in the identical interval in March 2022.
Diesel, the most-used gasoline within the nation, noticed gross sales leaping 7.4 per cent year-on-year to virtually 3 million tonnes.
This was 4.8 per cent greater than gross sales in March 2019, however 15.6 per cent decrease than 3.53 million tonnes consumption throughout March 1-15.
Petrol and diesel gross sales had risen 18 per cent and 23.7 per cent respectively within the first half of March when a lot of the hoarding on worth hike expectations befell.
Diesel gross sales throughout March had been essentially the most in any month within the final two years and greater than the entire quantity of diesel bought in April 2020 when the nation was underneath an entire lockdown.
Business sources mentioned whereas there was panic shopping for by particular person car homeowners within the first half of March, petrol pump sellers topped up not simply their storage tanks but in addition any cellular browser or tanker truck that they had.
The sellers hoped to make a fast buck by shopping for gasoline at a decrease price and promoting at revised greater costs. As costs had been raised, consumption fell.
Petrol and diesel costs hit the freeze button simply as electioneering in 5 states together with Uttar Pradesh picked up in early November 2021.
The file 137-day freeze ended on March 22.
Jet gasoline (ATF) gross sales rose 9.8 per cent to 231,400 tonnes in April 1-15 however had been 25.9 per cent lower than pre-COVID ranges of 2019. The gross sales had been, nevertheless, 1.7 per cent lower than 235,400 tonnes gross sales within the first half of March 2022.
ATF gross sales are anticipated to choose up with the whole opening up of air journey final week.
India went in for an entire lockdown, stopping flights, halting rail and highway actions and shutting companies, within the final week of March 2020 to include the unfold of coronavirus. The March 2020 interval was close to regular as COVID restrictions had been simply kicking in.
The federal government gave free LPG cylinders throughout 2020 to assist poor struggle the fallout of the stringent lockdown. This helped state oil corporations register progress month after month at the same time as different transport fuels noticed extreme demand contraction.
However within the first half of April, LPG consumption fell 0.7 per cent year-on-year to 1.02 million tonnes. This was 4 per cent decrease than April 2020 and 20.5 per cent decrease than 1.3 million tonnes demand in March 1-15, 2022.
Cooking fuel gross sales moderated after a Rs 50 per cylinder hike in costs on March 22. LPG gross sales had risen by 17 per cent within the first half of March.
However in comparison with the primary fortnight of April 2019, the gross sales had been up 16.5 per cent, the info confirmed.
