India’s oil consumption surged 11 percent to the most on record last year as rising income levels spurred greater use of cars, trucks and motorbikes, expanding fuel demand.
The world’s second-most populous nation consumed 178 million tonnes of oil products last year, up from 161 million tonnes in 2015, according to the Indian Oil Ministry’s petroleum planning and analysis cell.
Gasoline demand increased 12 percent in the year to 21.5 million tonnes and diesel consumption grew 5.6 percent 69.6 million tonnes.
Greater automotive use spurred by rapid economic expansion has made India a bright spot for global oil demand and local refiners are racing to add capacity. The International Energy Agency forecasts India to be the fastest-growing crude oil consumer in the world by 2040.
“We expect gasoline growth at 10 percent” and oil demand to expand by 7.6 percent this year, driven by passenger-vehicle sales, Singapore-based FGE senior consultant Sri Paravaikkarasu said. “Our expectation for oil prices in 2017 is US$50 to US$60 per barrel, which should support robust growth in transport and consumer fuels in India.”
Brent crude traded at US$53.86 a barrel, up 0.4 percent, as of 7:36am in London yesterday.
The global benchmark has lost 5.2 percent this year.
Indian oil consumption last month grew at the slowest pace for the month since 2013, as the government’s cash crackdown skewed the trend. The nation consumed 15 million tonnes of oil products last month, 4.3 percent more than the same period the previous year.
India’s auto sales, including commercial vehicles and motorcycles, rose 9.2 percent last year to 21.9 million, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
Prices of gasoline and diesel products at domestic fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.2 and NT$0.3 per liter respectively, after international crude oil prices increased last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week snapped a two-week losing streak as the geopolitical situation between Russia and Ukraine turned increasingly tense, CPC said in a statement. News that some oil production facilities in Alberta, Canada, were shut down due to wildfires and that US-Iran nuclear talks made no progress also helped push oil prices to a significant weekly gain, Formosa said
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
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