Fuel demand improves sharply in June as country reopens after lockdown
NEW DELHI: Sequential fuel demand improved sharply in the first half of June, although sales were still lower than a year ago, as factories, offices and shops started reopening and more vehicles came on the road with the stage-gated easing of the lockdown.
Sales are far better than in the lockdown months of April and May. The sales of petrol declined 18% annualized in the first fortnight of June, recovering from a bigger contraction of 35.4% in May and 60.4% in April, industry executives said.
Demand for diesel fell 15% in the first half of June from a year earlier. The fall was 29.5% in May and 55.6% in April for diesel. The June data are of the state fuel retailers that together control about 90% of the market while the data for the months of April and May include sales by private players as well.
