(ET)
Diesel demand in India fell for the second month in a row as the onset of monsoon chipped away consumption in key sectors like agriculture, preliminary industry data showed Tuesday. Petrol and diesel demand had fallen month-on-month in July. While petrol consumption is almost flat in the first half of August, diesel – the most widely used fuel in the country – saw demand drop 11.2 per cent during August 1-15 to 2.82 million tonnes from 3.17 million tonnes in the same period of the previous month.
The arrival and intensity of monsoon weigh heavily on diesel demand in the country and consumption traditionally is lower in July-September than in April-June. Monsoon restricts mobility and demand from the farm sector, which uses diesel in irrigation pumps and trucking, also drops with the onset of rains.
Diesel demand was, however, 32.8 per cent higher year-on-year, supported by strong economic growth and a relatively low baseline for the same period in 2021 when the second wave of COVID-19 had impacted the economy.
