India’s auto fuel demand picked up in June as economic activity accelerated after the easing of pandemic-related lockdowns, preliminary sales data showed on Thursday.
State-run refiners sold 2.12 million tonnes of gasoline last month, up 29.35per cent from May and about 5.7per cent from the year-earlier period.
Sales of gasoil, which accounts for about two-fifths of India’s overall refined fuel consumption and is directly linked to industrial activity in Asia’s third-largest economy, rose 18.5per cent from May to 5.36 million tonnes, but were down 1.84per cent from June 2020.
Compared to June 2019, demand for gasoline and gasoil last month slipped 10.4per cent and 18.8per cent, respectively.
Fuel demand in India would recover to pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year after being hit by a deadly second wave of coronavirus, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Tuesday.
In May, local fuel consumption, a proxy for oil demand, slumped to its lowest since last August as lockdowns and travel restrictions in several states stalled mobility and muted economic activity.
State-run Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd own about 90per cent of India’s retail fuel outlets. Below is a table of India’ preliminary daily fuel sales data with volumes in million tonnes.
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