India's fuel demand in July rose 6.1% year-on-year, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry showed on Monday, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.
Consumption of fuel, a proxy for oil demand, totaled 17.62 million tons in July, down 5.7% from 18.68 million tons in June. "India's fuel demand outlook is improving as the economy is poised for a strong bounce back in consumption and continued momentum for the services sector," said Edward Moya, senior analyst with OANDA.
"Fuel demand is softer than the prior month as higher prices are starting to impact demand...with the rupee at a historically low level, the country will struggle if oil prices continue to rebound." Sales of gasoline, or petrol, were 6.8% higher from a year earlier at 2.81 million tons.
Gasoline and gas oil sales by Indian state refiners in July fell from a month earlier as monsoon rains restricted mobility and construction work while high inflation curtailed overall demand for goods, per preliminary sales data. Cooking gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sales increased 1.7% to 2.41 million tons, while naphtha sales fell 6.2% to 1.14 million tons. Sales of bitumen, used for making roads, were up 1.4%, while fuel oil use edged up 19.8% in July.
As per MRC, India has cut fuel export taxes for the second time in less than two weeks and increased a windfall tax on locally produced crude oil, a government notification said. India cut export taxes on jet fuel to zero from 4 rupees per liter and diesel to 5 rupees per liter from 11 rupees per liter, the finance ministry notification said.
mrchub.com