Summer travel, PMUY expansion drive petrol, LPG consumption higher in May

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India’s fuel consumption witnessed robust growth in May as demand for petrol and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) grew substantially in the month, showed preliminary oil ministry data.

Summer travel aided fuelled petrol consumption growth which came in at 8.8 percent in May 2025 over May 2024, significantly higher than the annualised growth of 4.6 percent posted in April. The country consumed 3.76 million tonnes of petrol this May compared with 3.46 million tonnes in May last year and 3.45 million tonnes in April 2025, according to data provided by the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC).

“Travel spree which started as revenge tourism post covid is not slowing down. Infact, Indians are now increasingly following their western counterparts and holiday travelling is catching up beyond pilgrims. I believe this will continue to fuel petrol demand for many years as unfortunately personal mobility is getting preference riding on super highways and rising incomes,” Pankaj Sharma, additional director at PPAC, said in a social media post.

To be sure, fuel demand in May is typically high given the desire of families to escape scorching temperatures that prevail in large parts of the country, with trips to cooler climes like nearby hill stations high on the agenda.

Meanwhile, the usage of LPG or cooking gas grew sharply by 13.43 percent in May to 2.79 million tonnes. India’s LPG consumption was 2.46 million tonnes in May 2024 and 2.52 million tonnes in April 2025. The steep rise in LPG demand was supported by improved infrastructure and higher penetration of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), the government’s scheme under which subsidises cooking gas cylinders for below-poverty-level families.

“LPG demand grew from both domestic and industrial segments. The domestic demand is increasing as PMUY connections are at new highs with active LPG domestic customers with PSU OMCs (oil marketing companies) now at 329.7 million. LPG domestic customers increased by 68,000 to 3.73 million in FY25,” said Harshraj Aggarwal, executive vice president at Yes Securities.

Government data showed that active domestic LPG customers in India stood at 32.97 crore as of April 2025, higher than 32.42 crore customers in 2024-25 (FY25). PMUY connections were at 10.33 crore as of April 2025.

In May, growth in domestic diesel demand also showed resilience, improving by almost 2 percent on-year. The country consumed 8.57 million tonnes of diesel in May 2025, versus 8.41 million tonnes in May 2024 and 8.28 million tonnes in April 2025.

The early arrival of the monsoon this year—which results in early sowing of Kharif crops in India—also helped in higher consumption of diesel in May.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had said that in 2025, the country witnessed the earliest onset of monsoon since 2009. The southwest monsoon hit Kerala on May 24 this year, instead of the usually recorded date of June 1.

Aggarwal said increased diesel demand could be traced to higher industrial demand as well as pre-monsoon agricultural activity and possible higher diesel gensets usage due to peak summer demand of electricity.

With regards to aviation turbine fuel or jet fuel, sales at a subdued rate of 4.3 percent in May primarily due to temporary closure of air traffic and flight disruptions, following Operation Sindoor. India’s ATF consumption stood at 775 tonnes in May 2025, against 744 tonnes in May 2024 and 771 tonnes in April 2025.

The government had temporarily shut over 30 airports in May, leading to cancellation of several flights, following the clash with Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.

ATF demand would be better in coming months and years as new airports and terminals are getting commissioned in India regularly, said Sharma.