Gasoline and gasoil sales by Indian state refiners rose sharply in September from a year earlier, signalling a pick-up in industrial activity ahead of the festive season from this month, preliminary sales data showed.

Local fuel demand – a proxy for oil demand in Asia’s third largest economy – regularly slows during the four-month monsoon season from June.

State-refiners’ average daily gasoline sales rose 1.3% from August and was up 13.2% from a year earlier, the data showed.

Sales of gasoil in local markets increased by 4.6% from the previous month and by 22.6% from a year ago, the data shows.

India’s gasoil consumption, which accounts for about two-fifths of the country’s fuel demand, typically increases during the month-long festival season that ends with the celebration of Diwali as diesel-guzzling trucks hit the road and industrial activity gathers pace.

State retailers Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd own about 90% of the country’s retail fuel outlets.

Below is a table of India’s preliminary daily fuel sales data with volumes in thousand tonnes.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Nidhi Verma; editing by Richard Pullin)