BENGALURU: India’s fuel consumption rose to a seven-month high in December to about 20.054 million metric tons, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry showed.

Total consumption, a proxy for oil demand, in December rose by 6.2% from 18.89 million tons in November. It was up around 2.6% compared with the same period a year earlier.

“Due to the festive season, demand has been growing at a rapid rate in recent month. Demand will continue to increase but the growth could be slower, as 2023 has been a strong year,” said LSEG analyst Ehsan Ul Haq.

Sales of diesel, mainly used by trucks and commercially-run passenger vehicles, rose by 0.9% month-on-month to 7.60 million tons.

Sales of gasoline in December slipped 4.5% from the previous month to 2.99 million tons.

Sales of sports utility vehicles rose in December, while small car sales fell despite high discounts, data from Indian automakers showed last week.

“Car sales remain strong, which does bode well for demand but new cars are fuel efficient. Some car travel restrictions might remain in the winter but the situation is likely to start improving in February,” Ul Haq said.

Sales of bitumen, used for making roads, rose by 12.9% from November, while fuel oil use increased by 9.6% in December.

Cooking gas, or liquefied petroleum gas, sales rose by 5.6% to 2.63 million tons, while naphtha sales jumped by 27.9% to about 1.33 million tons, the data showed.