Data shows India's fuel consumption jumped to a record high in March urged on by robust economic activity in the world's third-biggest oil consumer.
Reuters reported that consumption of fuel, a proxy for oil demand, rose by 5 percent from a year earlier to 4.83 million barrels per day (20.5 million tonnes), the highest recorded in data going back to 1998 from the Indian Oil Ministry's Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell.
Viktor Katona, the lead crude analyst at Kpler, noted that bitumen, used for building roads, was the main source of growth in March, whereas transportation fuels, specifically diesel and gasoline, had been the drivers in previous months.
Sales of bitumen jumped 16.5 percent from February, while jet fuel sales rose more than 10.4 percent to 0.69 million tonnes and diesel sales were up 11.4 percent to 7.80 million tonnes.
India outlined plans in March to invest billions of dollars in airports, aircraft, and recruitment as the world's fastest-growing economy seeks to meet booming air travel demand.
