Mumbai : India, Asia's third-biggest energy consumer, used more diesel and gasoline last month as the economy continued to grow, according to data compiled by state oil companies. Sales of liquefied natural gas fell.
Consumption of diesel, which forms about 40 per cent of all fuel sold in India, gained 11 per cent last month from a year earlier to 5.3 million metric tonnes, the data show. Gasoline sales rose 13 per cent to 1.3 million tonnes.
India, the world's second-fastest growing major economy, reported an 18 per cent increase in industrial production in April, spurring energy consumption. That's the quickest pace in more than two years. Gross domestic product may grow almost 9 per cent in April to June, the government's Chief Statistician Pronab Sen said this month, after expanding 8.6 per cent in the previous quarter.
"Growing diesel consumption is an indicator of industrial growth," said Niraj Mansingka, a Mumbai-based analyst at Edelweiss Capital. "The rising use of naphtha, however, is a surprise.
Consumption of naphtha, used in power plants and petrochemical units, grew 15 per cent to 803,600 tons, while sales of imported LNG fell 16 per cent to 622,300 tonnes. India is using more domestic gas after Reliance Industries started supplying cheaper fuel from an offshore area on the east coast.
Jet fuel sales rose 12 per cent to 420,400 tonnes, according to the data. Liquefied petroleum gas, used for cooking and to power vehicles, rose 7.9 per cent to 1.04 million tonnes.
