India's July fuel demand rises 6.1% year-on-year, reveals ministry data

India's fuel demand in July rose 6.1% year-on-year, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry showed on Monday.

Consumption of fuel, a proxy for oil demand, totalled 17.62 million tonnes in July, down 5.7% from 18.68 million tonnes in June.

"India's fuel demand outlook is improving as the economy is poised for a strong bounce back in consumption and continued momentum for the services sector," said Edward Moya, senior analyst with OANDA.

"Fuel demand is softer than the prior month as higher prices are starting to impact demand...with the rupee at a historically low level, the country will struggle if oil prices continue to rebound."

Sales of gasoline, or petrol, were 6.8% higher from a year earlier at 2.81 million tonnes.

Gasoline and gas oil sales by Indian state refiners in July fell from a month earlier as monsoon rains restricted mobility and construction work while high inflation curtailed overall demand for goods, per preliminary sales data.

Cooking gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sales increased 1.7% to 2.41 million tonnes, while naphtha sales fell 6.2% to 1.14 million tonnes.

Sales of bitumen, used for making roads, were up 1.4%, while fuel oil use edged up 19.8% in July.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler and Marguerita Choy)