Thailand's total fuel consumption rose by 4.1% to 155 million litres per day (MLD) during the first two months of 2024, in line with economic growth, says the Department of Energy Business.
Usage of gasoline and gasohol, a mix of gasoline and ethanol, as well as jet fuel increased, while consumption of diesel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), compressed natural gas (CNG) and fuel oil declined, according to department chief Sarawut Kaewtathip.
Demand for gasoline and gasohol increased by 1.5% year-on-year to 32 MLD, compared with 31.6 MLD in the same period last year.
Mr Sarawut attributed the higher consumption to the state price subsidy programme.
Bustling tourism between January and February, following the government's visa-free policy, led to jet fuel usage rising by 19.5% year-on-year to 16.7 MLD, up from 14 MLD.
Demand for diesel dropped by 9.3% year-on-year to 70.1 MLD, down from 77.4 MLD, despite the diesel excise tax cut and the price subsidy scheme using the state Oil Fuel Fund.
He did not address why diesel consumption decreased in the first two months.
Diesel is needed by motorists and industries.
As household debt levels are high, people were cautious about spending while banks became more selective in lending money to car buyers, especially for pickups, wary of non-performing loans.
In February, the National Economic and Social Development Council downgraded its GDP forecast for this year to 2.7%, falling from a range of 2.7-3.7%, with an average of 3.2%.
According to Mr Sarawut, LPG consumption fell by 2.7% year-on-year to 16.6 million kilogrammes per day, down from 17.1 million kg per day. The lower demand was mainly the result of decreased petrochemical manufacturing, he said.
Fuel oil consumption dropped by 23.9% year-on-year to 5.3 MLD from 7 MLD.
CNG usage fell by 15.9% year-on-year to 2,960 tonnes per day after PTT Plc, the nation's sole CNG seller, decided to increase its retail price by one baht a kg to 19.59 baht per kg.
During the first two months this year, Thailand's imports of crude oil, LPG and refined oil dropped by 9.2% year-on-year to 1.02 million barrels per day (BPD), with the import value dipping 6.3% to 94 billion baht.
Oil exports rose by 14.2% year-on-year to 155,763 BPD, with the value increasing by 14.8% to 15.8 billion baht.