India's overall fuel consumption declined by 6.5% in May compared with the same month in 2025, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell of the oil ministry show. Total consumption for the month was recorded at 19.93 million metric tons, with product-level changes varying widely.
Gasoline sales increased 3.4% year-on-year, reaching 3.91 million metric tons in May. Diesel consumption also rose, up 1.6% from a year earlier to 8.73 million metric tons. Those two products together accounted for a substantial portion of the monthly total.
In contrast, liquefied petroleum gas sales contracted sharply, falling 20.5% to 2.13 million metric tons. Naphtha sales declined by 29.4% to 0.67 million metric tons in the same period. Bitumen, a product used for road construction, posted a large decrease of 39.4% year-on-year. Meanwhile, fuel oil use moved in the opposite direction and rose 24.0% in May.
The Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell's total fuel consumption figure is used as a proxy for oil demand. The May data therefore indicate a softer overall demand picture compared with the prior year, even as key products such as gasoline and diesel recorded moderate increases. The variation across individual product categories points to a mixed demand environment within the broader decline in aggregate consumption.
This release provides a monthly snapshot of product flows and highlights which categories experienced the most pronounced shifts. The sharp drops in liquefied petroleum gas, naphtha and bitumen stand out alongside the modest rises in gasoline and diesel and the sizeable uptick in fuel oil use. The data do not attribute causes for these movements, and the report is limited to the presented monthly figures.
Key points
- Total fuel consumption in India was 19.93 million metric tons in May, down 6.5% from May 2025.
- Gasoline rose 3.4% to 3.91 million metric tons and diesel rose 1.6% to 8.73 million metric tons; bitumen fell 39.4% and is noted as being used for road construction.
- Liquefied petroleum gas and naphtha sales fell 20.5% and 29.4% respectively, while fuel oil use increased 24.0%.
Risks and uncertainties
- The report provides monthly consumption figures but does not explain the underlying drivers behind increases or decreases for specific products, which limits interpretation of causality.
- Sharp declines in bitumen and liquefied petroleum gas sales suggest sector-specific volatility - for example, road construction activity is directly linked to bitumen demand - but the data do not quantify those linkages.
- The snapshot covers a single month and therefore may not capture longer-term trends or short-term volatility; no additional context or trend analysis is provided in the release.
These figures are drawn directly from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell of the oil ministry and reflect the product-level breakdowns reported for May. The data set functions as a monthly proxy for broader oil demand in India, showing a mixed pattern beneath an overall year-on-year decline.