Diesel demand hits 6-month high in Nov on festive boost

NEW DELHI: Diesel sales jumped to six-month high in Nov as the cut in GST (goods and services tax) rates boosted festive season demand, leading to increased industrial and commercial activities, industry data showed on Monday.Diesel consumption, an indicator of economic activities, rose 4.7% to 8.5 million tonnes during the month, posting the highest gain since May 2025, official data showed.The transport sector is the biggest consumer of the fuel, which accounts for 40% of all fuels sold in the country. Farming and construction sectors are the other major consumers. No wonder, sales have been declining sequentially for three months during the monsoon as rains disrupted movement of materials and finished goods as well as farming and construction activities.

Demand for diesel returned in a small way as rains started receding in Sept, ahead of the festive season.

The GST rate cut from Sept 22 sparked off a spike in demand for goods, jump-starting industrial as well as commercial activities and driving up diesel consumption.Petrol sales continued to expand during the month but at a more modest rate of a little over 2% to 3.5 million tonnes, with record car sales in Oct adding to the sustained demand as more and more people prefer to use personal vehicles for commuting.

LPG, mostly used as household cooking fuel, consumption was up 7.6% at nearly 3 million tonnes in Nov, driven largely by the addition of 25 lakh new customers under the 'Ujjwala' subsidy scheme for poor households.Jet fuel sales continued to rebound during the month under review, rising by 4.7% to 7,83,000 tonnes.