Thailand sees 2.3% rise in fuel consumption amid economic growth

Thailand has witnessed a 2.3% surge in fuel consumption in the initial nine months of this year, averaging at 154 million litres daily, in harmony with the country’s economic expansion, according to the Department of Energy Business.

There was an upswing in the demand for most fuel types, except for diesel, which saw a minor decline of 4.5% to 69.2 million litres daily, a slight drop from last year’s 70 million litres. Nanthika Thangsupanich, the department head, attributed this decrease to the economic deceleration and the zenith of diesel usage the previous year.

Nanthika noted that the government’s move to lower the diesel price domestically to 29.94 baht per litre, achieved through excise tax reduction, from the previous 31.94 baht, has not brought about a significant change.

The impact of this revised diesel price, which is effective from September 20 to December 31, is anticipated to be discernible in the October statistics, as per an anonymous energy business official. The state Oil Fuel Fund is being utilised by the authorities to maintain the diesel price below 30 baht per litre, leading to a loss of nearly 100 billion baht for the fund, as per the early reports of the Oil Fuel Fund Office.

Between January and September, the demand for fuel oil plunged by 11.4% year-on-year to 5.62 million litres daily, a decline from the previous year’s 6.34 million litres.

The nine-month duration saw an escalation in the consumption of other fuel types. Demand for gasoline and gasohol witnessed a 4.3% year-on-year rise to 31.7 million litres daily. Jet fuel consumption marked the highest growth, soaring by 65% to 13.4 million litres daily, up from the previous 8.14 million litres, reported Bangkok Post.

Gas consumption

The consumption of Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) surged by 1.5% year-on-year to 18.2 million kilogrammes daily, from the earlier 18.1 million kilogrammes per day. Compressed natural gas consumption noted a 0.2% year-on-year rise to 3,430 tonnes daily, from the former 3,400 tonnes daily, thanks to a state policy to cap its domestic price.

These escalations in fuel consumption are also a result of the recovery of tourism, as noted by Nanthika.

During the initial nine months, the imports of crude oil, LPG, and refined oil noted a 0.8% year-on-year rise to 1.043 million barrels daily, a surge from the former 1.034 million barrels. The import value, however, fell by 20% to 93.7 billion baht, down from the previous 117 billion.

The export of refined oil noted a 3% decline to 164,808 barrels daily, from the previous year’s 167,695 barrels. The export value also saw a decrease of 18.7% year-on-year to 17.3 billion baht, a drop from the previous 21.3 billion, as a result of the global oil price decline.

Follow more of The Thaiger’s latest stories on our new Facebook page HERE.