Indian state fuel retailers’ gasoil and gasoline sales in June were little changed from the previous month, preliminary data showed, as people avoided travel as a heat wave in May gave way to monsoon rains.

Daily sales of gasoil rose marginally by 0.4% to 7.12 million metric tonnes in June compared with May, the data showed.

Fuel demand in India, the world’s third biggest oil importer and consumer, typically falls during the four-month monsoon season beginning in June as parts of the country are hit by heavy floods.

Monsoon rains also reduce demand from the agriculture sector as less irrigation-related requirements decrease.

Gasoil accounts for about two-fifths of India’s overall refined fuel consumption and is directly linked to industrial activity in Asia’s third-largest economy.

State fuel retailers’ daily gasoline sales remained flat at nearly 2.90 million tonnes, the data showed.

State-run retailers and refiners – Indian Oil Corp IOC.NS, Hindustan Petroleum Corp HPCL.NS and Bharat Petroleum BPCL.NS – own about 90% of India’s retail fuel outlets.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Shivangi Acharya and Nidhi Verma in New Delhi, Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)