India’s gas oil, gasoline sales surge for festival

Gasoline and gas oil 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 per cent from August and was up 13.2 per cent from a year earlier, the data showed.

Sales of gas oil in local markets increased by 4.6 per cent from the previous month and by 22.6 per cent 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 per cent of the country's retail fuel outlets.