India, Aug. 3 -- Consumption of diesel and petrol surged about 9.4 per cent and 8.7 per cent, respectively, in July from the same month last year, primarily fuelled by lower-than-usual monsoons increasing the demand for the retail fuels among farmers who require them to run their irrigation machinery and tractors, among other things.

Petrol sales by Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) climbed 9.7 per cent to 3.45 million tonnes during July, compared with 3.14 million tonnes in the corresponding period a year ago. The volume was also 15.1 per cent higher than 2.99 million tonnes sold during July 2024 and 36.1 per cent above the level recorded in the same period of 2023.

Compared...