Festivities boost diesel sales in Oct, demand up over last year

Top Stories

»	Govt introduces 'Improvement Notice' mechanism to boost ease of doing business
»	India-US relationship stronger than ever: Trump team charts ambitious agenda
»	Piyush Goyal, global CEOs discuss investment opportunities under India-UK CETA
»	How EU-India FTA goes beyond tariffs to strategic trust
»	India, UK explore new opportunities to deepen economic, trade cooperation: Piyush Goyal

SME Times News Bureau | 17 Oct, 2020
First time since lockdown, diesel sale in the country has crossed over the pre-covid level with the country's most widely consumed fuel witnessing a nine per cent year-on-year growth in the first 15 days of October.

The surge in demand after months of subdued sales is the direct result of an increase in the transport activities ahead of the festival season as consumers move out to make those necessary purchases.

According to official sources, during the first fortnight of October, the sale of diesel increased by nine per cent (YoY) to reach a level of 2.65 million tonne. The growth is even more significant at close to 25 per cent in relation to the previous month of September.

Fuel sales by oil marketing companies had witnessed a drop of close to 60 per cent in April when nationwide lockdown was announced. Thereafter, sales picked up but remained muted and started growing from June during unlock phases. It dropped again in August only to recover now.

Petrol sales picked up during unlock phases as use of personal vehicles increased. But with festivals round the corner, diesel demand has now returned back to normal.

In the first 15 days of October, petrol sales also rose, but substantially lower at 1.5 per cent to close to one million tonne.