Fuel demand halves in April, lowest sales since 2007

NEW DELHI: Fuel sales nearly halved in April from a year ago as the countrywide lockdown and travel curbs imposed since March 24 to check the spread of the coronavirus kept vehicles off roads, confined people to their homes and severely curtailed economic activities.
Total fuel consumption fell to almost 10 million tonnes, or about 46% less than April 2019, marking the lowest sales since 2007, official data showed. Consumption of diesel, the main fuel for transportation and farming sectors, was down more than 55% at 3.3 million tonnes.
Petrol sales dived more than 60% to less than a million tonnes. Cooking gas, or liquefied petroleum gas, sales thrived at more than 2 million tonnes, up 12% from the year-ago period, as consumption rose with families staying indoors. The government’s move to provide free refills to 8 crore poor households that were given Ujjwala connections also pushed consumption.
Sales have started picking up gradually after the government relaxed some curbs, allowing industrial activities outside municipal areas to resume and trucks carrying essential items and other items began plying. The International Energy Agency has projected India’s annual fuel consumption, the measure of oil demand, will drop 5.6% in 2020.