India’s Oil Demand Set to Rise Amid Festivals and Elections
In the last quarter of the year, India’s demand for oil products is expected to increase due to festivals, agricultural activities, and elections, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights. The demand had previously decreased in September due to excessive rainfall, which impacted road movement, construction, and mining activities.
Forecast for Oil Demand
Himi Srivastava, a South Asia oil analyst at S&P Global, predicts a 3.5-4% growth in oil demand year over year for the October-December quarter. An increase of 50,000-55,000 barrels per day for both gasoline and diesel is expected, although the northeast monsoon rains might slightly affect this demand.
Impact of Monsoon and Elections
The monsoon season, which was 8% above the long-term average, particularly reduced diesel demand by nearly 2% compared to the previous year. However, gasoline demand grew by 3% year over year. Upcoming elections in states like Maharashtra and Jharkhand are anticipated to further boost transportation fuel demand.
Marriage Season and Global Oil Prices
The marriage season from November to January is expected to increase automobile sales and goods movement, further driving fuel demand. India imports about 85% of its crude oil, and recent global price volatility is attributed to geopolitical conflicts. Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, assured that there is no shortage of oil and prices will decrease soon.
Doubts Revealed
S&P Global -: S&P Global is a company that provides information and analysis about financial markets and industries. They help people understand how different markets, like oil, are doing.
Barrels per day -: Barrels per day is a way to measure how much oil is being used or produced each day. One barrel is a big container that holds about 159 liters of oil.
Monsoon season -: The monsoon season in India is a time when there is a lot of rain. It usually happens from June to September and can affect activities like farming and transportation.
Geopolitical conflicts -: Geopolitical conflicts are disagreements or tensions between countries. These can affect things like oil prices because countries might have trouble trading with each other.
Minister Hardeep Singh Puri -: Hardeep Singh Puri is an Indian politician who is the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas. He is responsible for managing India’s oil and gas resources.