India’s liquefied petroleum gas consumption declined by 17% in the first four months of the year amid geopolitical disruptions, prompting a shift in import sources and raising concerns over future supply stability.
India’s liquefied petroleum gas consumption fell sharply in the four months to July, sliding 17% year-on-year to 8.8 million tonnes, according to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell cited by Moneycontrol. The drop came as supply chains were jolted by disruption in West Asia after the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, while government curbs on commercial LPG sales and encouragement for consumers to switch to piped natural gas also weighed on demand.
The weakness in cooking gas stood in contrast to firmer fuel use elsewhere in the economy. Petrol consumption rose 6% to 15.2 million tonnes during April to July, while diesel demand increased 4% to 33.7 million tonnes. Aviation turbine fuel was broadly unchanged at 2.9 million tonnes over the same period, suggesting that transport and travel activity remained steadier than household LPG use.
There were signs of recovery in July, after restrictions on commercial supplies were lifted. LPG consumption rose 7.5% from June to 2.35 million tonnes, the highest monthly level since March, while petrol demand edged up 1% to 3.8 million tonnes. Diesel consumption, however, slipped 6% month on month to 8.1 million tonnes.
The import mix has also shifted as India has scrambled to secure alternative supplies. Commodity analytics firm Kpler said the United States supplied 3.6 million tonnes of LPG between January and July, while imports from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait totalled 5.3 million tonnes. That made the US the single largest source of LPG for India at points during the period, reflecting a wider effort to reduce dependence on Gulf routes that historically carried about 90% of the country’s LPG imports through Hormuz.
India still imports about 60% of its LPG needs, but officials have said crude and cooking-gas supplies are secured through September, easing immediate concerns over shortages. Even so, industry sources warn that any further escalation around Hormuz or the Red Sea could complicate deliveries again, and analysts expect Indian refiners to keep broadening sourcing beyond the Gulf even after the present tensions ease. Separate reports earlier this year also showed how quickly the disruption hit sales in March and April, underlining the vulnerability of a market so heavily dependent on imports.
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