In September, India’s monthly fuel demand was at the lowest since November 2021, Government data showed. The aggregate monthly fuel demand in the September deck was 3.6% from August, although it was up 8.1% compared with September 2021.

“When we witness the drop in Indian oil demand, part of it had to do with seasonal care of the refineries, not necessarily a moderating of the economy,” Phil Flynn, an analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago, said. “We expect the demand for India to pick up here very soon as we get into winter.” Consumption of fuel, a substitution for oil demand, equalled 17.18 million tonnes in September, up from 15.89 million tonnes in 2021, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the Oil Ministry released. Sales of diesel, or gasoil, rose about 13.4% YoY to 6.26 million tonnes but dropped 1.4% MoM to a one-year low.

The Auctions of gasoline, or petrol, were 8.8% higher than a year earlier at 2.83 million tonnes. Earlier this month, the preliminary sales data showed gasoline and gasoil sales by the Indian state refiners rose sharply in September from a year earlier, gesturing a pick-up in trade activity amid the festive season from October.

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The bitumen sales for making roads were up at 16%, while fuel oil use framed up 9% in September. Cooking gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sales rose 3.5% to 2.45 million tonnes, while naphtha sales deck 6.4% to 1.08 million tonnes. Indian state refiners design to lock in more of their crude goods in term deals, worried that tighter Western approvals on Russia, also from the EU, could control future supplies in even now tight markets, state refiners sources said this week.