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India's fuel demand fell in the first half of March after posting a record growth in the previous month, preliminary industry data showed on Thursday. Fuel sales soared to the highest levels in February on the back of robust demand from the agriculture sector as well as transport picking up after the winter lull. March saw the seasonal slowdown kicking in with rise in temperatures. Petrol sales decreased by 1.4 per cent to 1.22 million tonnes in the first half of March when compared with the same period of last year. Sales fell 0.5 per cent month-on-month, the data showed. Diesel, the most consumed fuel in the country, saw demand slip 10.2 per cent to 3.18 million tonnes during March 1 to 15 when compared with 3.54 million tonnes sales in the same period a year back. Month-on-month the demand was down 4.6 per cent. During the first half of February, petrol consumption had jumped by almost 18 per cent year-on-year while diesel sales were up nearly 25 per cent. The consumption of p