Source : PTI | Petrol and diesel consumption soared in December 2024 as holiday travel boosted demand, reversing the fall seen in previous months, preliminary data of state-owned fuel retailers showed Wednesday.
While petrol sales saw a year-on-year rise in recent months, diesel has been a laggard since monsoon. November was the first month that saw growth in diesel consumption and the trend continued into December. Petrol sales of three state-owned firms, which control 90% of the fuel market, soared 9.8% to 2.99 million tonne in December compared to 2.72 million tonne in the same month last year.
Diesel demand during the month was up 4.9% to 7.07 million tonne. This is the second straight month of auto fuels posting handsome increase in consumption. Petrol demand was up 8.3% year-on-year in November and diesel consumption rose 5.9%. Road trips as well as air and rail travel during the holiday season in the second half of December boosted sales. Fuel demand in the agriculture sector due to kharif crop sowing contributed to the rise.
