The consumption of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by India, the world’s third largest consumer, fell by almost 16 per cent m-o-m and 13 per cent y-o-y to 2.38 million tonnes (mt) on a provisional basis—the lowest in the last 21 months.
Simultaneously, the consumption of diesel and petrol at 8.73 mt and 3.78 mt, respectively, hit a record high last month aided by panic buying as consumers crowded at retail outlets fearing hit on supplies due to the conflict in West Asia, even as the government has reiterated that there are “sufficient” supplies available.
Data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) show that the LPG ‘s monthly decline of 15.7 per cent in March 2026 is a record low. Prior to this, the lowest consumption was recorded in June 2024 (2.32 mt).
Cumulative consumption
Overall, India’s cumulative LPG consumption rose by 6 per cent y-o-y to 33.21 mt on a provisional basis. This is the highest annual growth in usage since FY19.
A senior government official said “LPG is the sharpest pressure point. India imports 60 per cent of its LPG with 90 per cent of that transiting Hormuz. This impacted imports, which fell to around 1.1 mt last month from roughly 2 mt in February. This is among the sharpest monthly falls in imports.”
However, the government has been quick to tackle the situation by re-prioritising energy resources. With LPG, the priority is households as 90-92 per cent of the annual LPG consumption is there. That apart, the Oil Ministry has also pushed piped natural gas (PNG) and the expectation is that there will be around 6-7 lakh new consumers by April-end with more than 3 lakh already on-board in March 2026, he added.
Another notable development is that India’s diesel consumption during March 2026 has hit a record high at 8.73 mt (provisionally). It rose by 14 per cent m-o-m and 8 per cent y-o-y. Prior to this, the highest consumption was in May 2025 at 8.57 mt.
Petrol at new high
Similarly, the consumption of petrol also hit a record high of 3.78 mt (provisionally), growing by 12 per cent m-o-m and almost 8 per cent Y-o-Y. Prior to this, the highest usage was recorded in May 2025 at 3.78 mt.
The trends in usage are led by the conflict in West Asia. The world’s second largest LPG importer procures almost 60 per cent of its consumption from the Middle East Gulf (MEG) region with most cargo transiting the Strait of Hormuz (SoH).
The closure of the critical energy choke point since February 28, 2026 severely impacted India’s imports, which in normal times stood at around 54,000 tonnes per day (TPD) and has come down to around 30,000 TPD.
Published on April 10, 2026