Indian refiners’ October oil processing highest since March

Crude oil processed by Indian refiners rose to its highest in seven months in October as fuel demand picked up although throughput remained lower than a year earlier, hurt by the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on industrial and transport activity.

Crude oil throughput in October dropped 16.1 per cent from a year earlier to 4.35 million barrels per day (18.39 million tonnes), but was the highest since March when the country went into a nationwide lockdown, provisional data issued by the government showed on Wednesday.

India’s crude oil throughput hits 7-month peak https://graphics.reuters.com/INDIAN-REFINERY/qmypmxwodvr/chart.png

Pointing to a recovery in economic activity, India’s fuel consumption registered its first year-on-year increase since February last month, data showed earlier.

Daily coronavirus cases in the country have declined steadily since having peaked in September, although it remains the second-highest number of cases in the world, after the United States.

Crude oil throughput in October rose 0.5 per cent from September’s 4.33 million barrels per day (17.71 million tonnes).