No poll incentive for diesel sales, but petrol demand spikes 12% in April

NEW DELHI: Polls have failed to propel diesel consumption out of the slow lane but boosted demand for petrol, jet fuel and cooking gas in April, while heat wave conditions sweeping through large tracts of the country jacked up electricity use by double digits, government data showed.

Preliminary sales data of the state-run fuel retailers, which serve 90% of the market, put diesel demand — a key indicator of economic activities — falling 2.3% in April from a year ago. This is the second consecutive month of sales falling annually. Sequentially, however, sales were 7.2% higher than March.

In contrast, petrol consumption shot up 12.3% over April 2023, while demand for jet fuel rose 7% and LPG, supplied to households as cooking fuel, jumped 12% from a year ago.

Power consumption shot up by over 11% to push peak power demand to 224 gigawatts (GW) against, 215.8 GW in April 2023, as people switched on cooling equipment to beat the heat.

Contrary to expectations, diesel sales did not pick up due to electioneering by parties, large-scale movement of security forces and polling personnel. Industry watchers blamed it on poor traction from the agriculture sector after harvesting, spaced out polling and people’s preference for personal transport — the latter also boosting petrol sales, particularly from people driving to cooler climes to escape the heat.

Aviation fuel also got a boost from early start of holiday season at the end of school exams, the heat wave and marriages.