India’s oil product sales grew 10 percent in April, the slowest since December as growth in diesel demand decelerated. Total fuel consumption increased to 16.2 million metric tons in the first month of the fiscal year from 14.7 million tons in the same month a year before, according to preliminary data on the website of the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell. Diesel sales rose 4.4 percent to 6.8 million tons in April, compared with 15 percent in March. Gasoline consumption grew 12 percent to 1.99 million tons. “I wouldn’t read much into this one-month dip,” said Amit Agarwal, an analyst at SBI Capital Markets Ltd. “Diesel demand should improve in future with commercial vehicle sales rising.” The slower pickup could be cyclical in nature as retailers push sales ahead of the financial year closing. On an annual basis, India’s demand for fuel grew 11 percent in the […]