Petrol and diesel sales surge in December. Know the reason

Petrol and diesel demand soared in India in December 2022 owing to increased consumption across the country. A PTI report claims that the demand uptick is attributed to the increased consumption in the agriculture sector since the festive season. The report claims that petrol sales surged 8.6 per cent to 2.76 million tonnes in December, as compared to 2.54 million tonnes registered in the same month a year ago. It also claimed that petrol sales last month were 13.3 per cent higher than in December 2020 and 23.2 per cent higher than in pre-pandemic December 2019. The report further claimed the petrol demand was up 3.7 per cent on an MoM basis (month-on-month).

Diesel demand witnessed a 13 per cent rise in December to 7.3 million tonnes, as compared to same month last year. The most used fuel in the country saw its consumption up by 14.8 per cent last month over December 2020 and 11.3 per cent higher than pre-Covid December 2019. However, diesel sales witnessed a marginal 0.5 per cent dip last month, as compared to November 2022. Also, the report claims that petrol and diesel sales in December 2022 were the highest since June last year.

The increased sales of diesel are attributed to the higher trucking activity. The report further stated that petrol and diesel sales had dipped in July and August last year owing to the monsoon and reduced demand. Since then, petrol and diesel sales have surged, especially buoyed by the festive season demand.

While increased truck movements across the country have helped diesel demand and sales surge, petrol witnessed an uptick in demand and sales on the back of factors like positive consumer sentiment, boosted by the festive season, new car launches, reduced Covid-19 cases and static pricing of the auto fuel.