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By Nidhi Verma
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's annual domestic oil product sales rose 6.3 percent in May, its highest jump since October, to 12.38 million tonnes on higher demand for auto fuels, government data showed on Thursday.
Auto fuel sales, including gasoline and diesel, rose as dealers stocked the fuel in anticipation of a hike in prices.
A government panel will meet on Friday to decide whether to raise domestic fuel prices, a move that may further stoke inflation and spark protests from the opposition.
Petrol sales rose an annual 13.1 percent to 1.25 million tonnes, with the additional impetus of a 30 percent jump in car sales due to rising incomes and a rapidly expanding economy as well as subsidised fuel prices.
Diesel sales grew by 11.1 percent to 5.30 million tonnes in May, which also indicated higher demand from farm and industrial sectors. Diesel runs pump sets used for irrigating farm lands.
Industrial output rose 17.60 percent in April from a year earlier, the strongest since December. Data for May will be released on July 12.
India's crude imports declined and fuel imports rose in the month due to a shutdown of a 100,000-bpd vacuum gas oil unit at Reliance Industries (RELIANCE.NS : 1052.05 -6.65
)' 660,000-bpd refinery at Jamnagar in Gujarat.
Crude oil imports fell 14.1 percent to 11.54 million tonnes, or 2.73 million barrels per day (bpd).
Fuel exports were down by 40.1 percent in the month from a year earlier, while imports grew 3.4 percent.
The government data does not include imports and exports by Reliance's new 580,000 bpd export-focused refinery at Jamnagar.
The country's naphtha imports have been declining since Reliance started pumping gas from its east coast field in April 2009.
However, naphtha consumption rose by 33.1 percent in May due to a start-up of a naphtha cracker at Indian Oil Corp's Panipat refinery.
Naphtha imports also rose 125 percent in May, while exports declined 16 percent.
(Editing by Unnikrishnan Nair, editing by Jane Baird)
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