Cooking fuel outpaces gasoline in India due to Covid-19, cold weather
A fuel primarily used for cooking has surpassed gasoline as India’s second most popular oil product following a boost from a government buying program, cold weather and stay-at-home orders due to Covid-19.
Consumption in 2020 of liquefied petroleum gas — which is also used for heating — was higher than motor fuel for the first time ever over a calendar year, data from the government showed. Demand got an additional boost later in the year following a six-month extension of a government program providing free LPG cylinders to lower-income people and an early start to winter.
While LPG use rose as more people cooked at home due to tighter coronavirus restrictions, India’s full-year consumption of gasoline never fully recovered from a collapse in demand during a nationwide lockdown in the second-quarter of 2020.
