Indian state retailers last month sold about 4.9 million tonnes of diesel, up 16% from August 2020 and down about 10% from August 2019, the data showed.

Sale of gasoil, which accounts for about two fifths of India's refined fuel demand and which is directly linked with industrial and construction activity, fell by 9.3% from July as floods in some parts of the country crippled movement.

In contrast, gasoline sales stayed above the pre-COVID level at 2.4 million tonnes as people opted to use personal vehicles over public transport and shared mobility for safety reasons.

August gasoline sales were up 4.1% from the same month in 2019 and rose by 2.5% from July, the data showed.

Rating agency CRISIL, a unit of Standard & Poors, said on Wednesday economic recovery and preference for personal mobility would drive up road traffic by 12%-14% in the year to March 2022.

State-run Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd own about 90% of the country's retail fuel outlets.

Below is a table of India' preliminary fuel sales data with volumes in thousand tonnes.

(Reporting by Nidhi Verma; Editing by Edmund Blair)

By Nidhi Verma