India’s annual fuel demand in January rose at its fastest pace in three months, thanks to higher gasoline consumption after the country's top court temporarily banned the sale of large diesel cars in its capital city.
Fuel consumption, a proxy for oil demand in Asia's third-largest economy, surged 12.7% to 15.71 million tons, as per the data of Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC).
Consumption of gasoil or diesel, which comprises about 40% of refined fuels used in India, rose nearly 8% to 6.28 mn tons last month. Sales of gasoline, or petrol, surged 11.4% from a year earlier to 1.82 mn tons as passenger car sales edged up last month. Cooking gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sales increased 4.4% to 1.69 mn tons, while naphtha sales were 22.8% higher at 1.10 mn tons.