The oil prices in India have reportedly witnessed a record price hike in a short span of 16 days which has dented the demand for fuel in the country thereby reducing its sales in the first half of April.
Petrol sales fell by nearly 10% in the initial months of April in comparison to the same period in the previous month whereas the demand for diesel reduced by 15.6%. Even LPG (liquified petroleum gas), which showcased consistent growth during the pandemic, witnessed an m-o-m (month-on-month) fall in consumption by 1.7% from April 1 to April 15.
On March 22nd this year, state-owned oil companies ended a hiatus of 137 days in rate division and passed on a USD 30/barrel rise in the cost of crude oil during the election period.
Between March 22nd and April 6th, diesel and petrol prices increased by USD 0.13 (Rs. 10)/liter which was the highest-ever hike within 16 days since the deregulation of fuel prices twenty years ago. Prices of cooking gas also increased by USD 0.65 (Rs. 50)/cylinder to USD 12.44 (Rs. 949.5) which was the highest-ever price for the subsidized fuel.
Meanwhile, jet fuel prices increased to the highest-ever price of USD 1,482.3 (Rs 1,13,202.33) per kilolitre, leading to a fall in month-on-month sales again by at least 20.5%.
During the first two weeks of March, the public, as well as dealers, were found filling up their tanks given the looming hike in prices. While the revision of daily prices restarted on March 22, the surges were calibrated.
Petrol sales from state-sponsored fuel retailers, which control approximately 90% of the market at around 1.12 million tonnes from April 1st to April 15th were recorded at 12.1% higher in comparison to the same period a year ago.
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