Diesel sales continued to dip in August from a year ago as heavy rains and flooding in many parts of the country disrupted mobility, mining, and farm activities but petrol consumption barely managed to hold steady on record automobile despatches from manufacturers. Preliminary industry data showed diesel demand falling 2.9% and petrol consumption nearly flat with a growth of 0.4% from the year-ago period. Sequentially, demand for diesel recorded a sharper drop at 3.7% but petrol sales rose 3.4% over July when fuel consumption had slipped near 10-month low. Diesel is the largest-selling fuel and a key indicator of economic activities since it is used mostly by the transport, mining, construction, and farm sectors. Oil industry executives described the continued depressed sales as a seasonal phenomenon and nothing to worry about due to strong demand fundamentals.

Jet fuel sales grew 9.5% compared to August 2022 but sequentially the growth was marginal at 1% over July. Consumption of LPG, or liquefied petroleum gas, used mostly as household cooking fuel, grew at 4.4% from a year ago and sequentially posted a jump of 5.1% over July. This is attributed to increased cooking/snacking as rains restricted people indoors.