India's gasoil sales in the first half of December rose from November and compared to the same period last year, preliminary sales data showed on Thursday, reflecting a pick up in industrial activity in the world's third-biggest oil consumer.

       Gasoil sales by the country's state fuel retailers were 2.87 million tonnes during Dec. 1-15, the data compiled by state-owned refiners showed, up 17.9% from the same period in November and up 3.3% from a year ago. However, sales were down 1.68% from the same period in 2019.

       State retailers Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd own about 90% of the country's retail fuel outlets.

       Sales of gasoil, which account for about two-fifths of India's overall refined fuel consumption, are directly linked to industrial activity in Asia's third-largest economy.

       India's manufacturing activity in November grew at the fastest pace in 10 months, buoyed by a strong pick-up in demand, according to a survey by IHS Markit's Purchasing Managers' Index .

       Gasoline sales during the period continued to stay above pre-COVID-19 levels as people continued to prefer using personal vehicles over public transport for safety reasons.

       Sales were 1.12 million tonnes, up 16.2% from the same period in 2019, 6.9% higher than in November and up 5.9% from a year ago, the data showed.

       Below is a table of India's preliminary fuel sales data with volumes in thousand tonnes.

       Refined Fuel Dec. %chg from %chg %chg vs 1-15 Nov 1-15 yr/yr Dec 2019 Gasoline 1,116.54 6.94 5.91 16.19 Gasoil 2,874.37 17.85 3.34 -1.68 Jet Fuel 238.07 11.83 22.65 -29.74 Liquefied Petroleum Gas 1,227.94 9.48 3.81 14.51

       (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)