Petrol, diesel sales soar in May

India’s petrol and diesel sales soared in May as agriculture demand picked up and cars yanked up air-conditioning with the onset of summer

India's petrol and diesel sales soared in May as agriculture demand picked up and cars yanked up air-conditioning with the onset of summer, preliminary industry data showed on Thursday.

Demand for diesel, the most consumed fuel in the country accounting for about two-fifths of the demand, soared 9.3% to 7.46 million tonne in May compared to the year-ago period.

In April, diesel demand had risen 6.7% year-on-year and the consumption in May was better than that.

Month-on-month sales rose 4.2% when compared with 7.16 million tonne of diesel consumed in April.

Petrol sales rose 10.4% to 3.08 million tonne in May 2023 when compared with the same period last year. Sales were up 16.5% month-on-month, the data showed.

Petrol and diesel sales have been on the rise from the second half of March on the back of a pick-up in industrial and agriculture activity. In the first half of March, petrol sales had fallen 1.4% and diesel 10.2% year-on-year.

And consumption soared in May as air-conditioning needs rose with a rise in temperature.