Petrol, diesel sales drop after February fireworks

Fuel sales soared to the highest levels in February on the back of robust demand from the agriculture sector as well as transport picking up after the winter lull

India's fuel demand fell in the first half of March after posting record growth in the previous month, preliminary industry data showed on March 16.

Fuel sales soared to the highest levels in February on the back of robust demand from the agriculture sector as well as transport picking up after the winter lull.

March saw the seasonal slowdown kicking in with rise in temperatures.

Petrol sales decreased by 1.4% to 1.22 million tonnes in the first half of March when compared with the same period of last year. Sales fell 0.5% month-on-month, the data showed.

Diesel, the most consumed fuel in the country, saw demand slip 10.2% to 3.18 million tonnes during March 1 to 15 when compared with 3.54 million tonnes sales in the same period a year back. Month-on-month the demand was down 4.6%.

During the first half of February, petrol consumption had jumped by almost 18% year-on-year while diesel sales were up nearly 25%.

The consumption of petrol in the first half of March was 16.4% more than Covid-marred first half of March 2021 and almost 23% more than in the same period of 2020.