The country’s average usage stood at roughly 90,991 TPD in FY26, 85,830 TPD in FY25 and 81,271 TPD in FY24.
| Photo Credit:
Manvender Vashist Lav
India’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consumption declined by 8 per cent Y-o-Y to around 14.74 million tonnes (mt) during the first half of the current calendar year as the West Asia conflict and the resultant closure of the Strait of Hormuz (SoH) completely blocked off supply of the key cooking fuel.According to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC), India’s LPG usage from January through June 2026 stood at 14.74 mt on a provisional basis, compared to 15.95 mt a year-ago.The decline in consumption is entirely due to lower availability of LPG. India imports 60 per cent of its domestic requirement, of which 90 per cent comes from the Middle East Gulf (MEG) region, with most of the cargoes transiting the Strait of Hormuz (SoH).During June 2026, LPG usage declined by almost 17 per cent Y-o-Y to 2.18 mt on a provisional basis. However, consumption on a monthly basis rose by a little over 2 per cent as more LPG cargoes made it to Indian ports, particularly from the US, which emerged as India’s largest supplier during March to June 2026.May was the month when the impact of supply disruption clearly showed on India’s consumption of the key commodity, which is also the main cooking medium for more than 33.50 crore households, including over 10.50 crore beneficiaries who receive subsidised LPG under PM Ujjwala Yojna (PMUY).India’s LPG consumption during May 2026 stood at roughly 2.13 mt, which is the lowest in the last 62 months, or more than 5 years. The lowest before this was during the Covid-impacted April 2021 (2.10 mt). Before 2021, the lowest consumption was recorded in April 2020 (2.11 mt), June 2019 (1.79 mt) and April 2019 (1.9 mt).LPG consumption generally declines during the summers. As of early June 2026, India was consuming around 72,000 tonnes per day (TPD) of LPG. A back of the envelope calculation shows that the country’s average usage stood at roughly 90,991 TPD in FY26, 85,830 TPD in FY25 and 81,271 TPD in FY24.However, analysts, traders and refiners indicate that supplies will now get back on track with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the US and Iran and the 60-day sanctions reprieve for Tehran, which is also reflecting in a higher number of vessels loaded with crude oil, LNG and LPG transiting the Strait of Hormuz.The government on Wednesday reduced the prices of commercial LPG and 5 kg LPG cylinders, an indication that the conflict in MEG, which intensified on February 28 is on the wane.Another indication was the government removing restrictions on sale of diesel and petrol from retail outlets (ROs) operated by PSU OMCs, including the cap of 200 litres per day per vehicle on diesel, with effect from July 1.Published on July 2, 2026
