The price of oil traded solidly above the $50 per barrel mark on Tuesday due to various factors, including a disruption in supply from several oil producing nations such as Libya, Canada and Venezuela, a weaker U.S. dollar and... auto sales data out of India?
According to the Wall Street Journal, the rebound in oil prices is being boosted by surging demand for cars in Asia's emerging economies, particularly India. The publication added that India's oil consumption hit a record of 4.35 million barrels of refined fuels a day, up more than 10 percent from a year ago.
In fact, India's oil demand for the first quarter of 2016 grew at a faster rate than China's demand. Leading the surge in oil demand came from a 14.5 percent growth in gasoline demand in the 12 month period ending in March. Demand for diesel also grew by 7.5 percent during the same time period.
"The big news in demand is growth in India, which now rivals China," Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of consulting firm IHS told the Wall Street Journal. "India really is seen as the growth market for oil."
Finally, the Wall Street Journal noted India's manufacturing sector built 24 million new vehicles while sales of new passenger cars rose 7.2 percent.
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