(ET)
Demand for petrol and diesel jumped while that for bitumen slowed during April-May when an intense election campaign boosted sales of transportation fuel but slowed road construction work. Oil demand shrank 0.3% in the first two months of the current fiscal year on lower consumption of polluting pet coke, fuel oil, kerosene and bitumen. India consumed 36.3 million metric tonnes (mmt) of petroleum products in April-May, compared to 36.4 mmt in the year-ago period. The country produced 43 mmt of petroleum products in April-May, 1.3% higher than a year ago.
Sale of petrol and diesel jumped 10.7% and 2.7%, respectively, on increased use of vehicles in election campaigning. But a decline in sales of vehicles hurt demand for diesel and to a lesser extent that of petrol. Car buyers seem to prefer petrol-driven cars as diesel deregulation has made diesel-driven cars less attractive these days.
