India's fuel demand hits highest on record in December

India is the world's third-largest consumer and importer of oil and the largest buyer of Russian seaborne crude, taking advantage of discounts on Russian oil as Europe and the U.S. shun those barrels over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Reuters

January 06, 2026 / 22:19 IST

The U.S. could raise tariffs on India if New Delhi does not meet Washington's demand to curb purchases of Russian oil, President Donald Trump said on Sunday.

India's fuel consumption hit 21.75 million metric tons in December, up 5.3% year-on-year and the highest monthly number recorded in oil ministry data going back to April 1998.
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
India is the world's third-largest consumer and importer of oil and the largest buyer of Russian seaborne crude, taking advantage of discounts on Russian oil as Europe and the U.S. shun those barrels over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
BY THE NUMBERS
Data released by the oil ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) on Tuesday showed sales of gasoline, or petrol, stood at 3.56 million metric tons in December, up 1.1% from November and 7.1% from a year earlier.
Diesel consumption was at 8.46 million tons, up 5% from a year earlier but down 1.1% month-on-month.
Liquefied petroleum gas consumption rose 11.2% from a year earlier to 3.08 million tons.
Naphtha sales fell 0.4% year-on-year to 1.01 million tons, while consumption of bitumen, used primarily in road construction, rose 0.3% from November and 18.8% on an annual basis at 0.91 million tons.
Fuel oil usage stood at 0.57 million tons, rising 2.3% from a year earlier and about 1.6% month-on-month.
CONTEXT
The U.S. could raise tariffs on India if New Delhi does not meet Washington's demand to curb purchases of Russian oil, President Donald Trump said on Sunday.
Trump's comments follow months of trade negotiations after the U.S. doubled import tariffs on Indian goods to 50% last year as punishment for its heavy buying of Russian oil.
India's Reliance Industries said it is not expecting any Russian crude oil deliveries in January.
DOMESTIC SALES (in millions of metric tons):
2025 2025 2025 2024 2024 2024
December November October December November October
Diesel 8.46 8.55 7.62 8.05 8.17 7.65
Petrol 3.56 3.52 3.67 3.32 3.43 3.41
LPG 3.08 2.86 2.87 2.77 2.67 2.72
Naphtha 1.01 0.89 0.89 1.01 1.10 1.16
Jet fuel 0.79 0.79 0.77 0.78 0.75 0.76
Kerosene 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.03
Fuel Oil 0.57 0.56 0.59 0.56 0.50 0.62
Bitumen 0.92 0.91 0.66 0.77 0.71 0.64
TOTAL 21.75 21.27 20.17 20.66 20.66 20.25

Did our AI summary help?

India's fuel consumption hit 21.75 million metric tons in December, up 5.3% year-on-year and the highest monthly number recorded in oil ministry data going back to April 1998.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

India is the world's third-largest consumer and importer of oil and the largest buyer of Russian seaborne crude, taking advantage of discounts on Russian oil as Europe and the U.S. shun those barrels over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

BY THE NUMBERS

Data released by the oil ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) on Tuesday showed sales of gasoline, or petrol, stood at 3.56 million metric tons in December, up 1.1% from November and 7.1% from a year earlier.