New Delhi: Fuel demand in the country rose 4.2 per cent to a three-year high in March, as consumption of petrol and diesel was above pre-pandemic levels, according to official data released on Monday.
Total petroleum product consumption stood at 19.41 million tonnes in March, the highest since March 2019, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry showed.
As the economy recovered from the deepening effects of the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for transportation fuels increased in March.
Diesel, the most widely used fuel in the country, accounts for nearly 40 per cent of all petroleum products consumed, with demand rising 6.7 per cent to 7.7 million tonnes. Petrol sales, which crossed pre-Covid levels a few months back, rose 6.1 per cent to 2.91 million tonnes.
In March, demand for both fuels was above pre-pandemic levels.
Diesel consumption was higher due to strong demand from the agriculture sector as well as stockpiling by consumers and petrol pumps in anticipation of price hike.
LPG demand grew 9.8 per cent to 2.48 million tonnes in March.
Fuel demand grew by 4.3 per cent to 202.71 million tonnes in the financial year ended March 31, 2022, the highest since 2019-20.
While consumption of auto and cooking fuels increased, industrial fuels decreased.
Petrol consumption grew by 10.3 per cent to 30.85 million tonnes in 2021-22, while diesel sales grew by 5.4 per cent to 76.7 million tonnes.
Petrol demand was the highest ever in 2021-22 while diesel sales were the highest after consuming 82.6 million tonnes in 2019-20.
LPG consumption increased by 3 per cent to 28.33 million tonnes.
Jet fuel or Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) demand rose 35 percent to 5 million tonnes, but was less than 8 million tonnes in the pre-pandemic year. The main reason for this was that full aviation services resumed only at the end of last month.
Petroleum coke consumption fell by 9.7 per cent to 14.1 million tonnes in 2021-22, while kerosene demand declined by 17 per cent to 1.5 million tonnes.
The consumption of naphtha used as fuel in industries, as well as bitumen used in road construction, was 14.2 million tonnes and 7.7 million tonnes, respectively.