Fuel demand picks up in July, petrol consumption reaches pre-COVID level

NEW DELHI: India’s fuel demand picked up in July as easing of pandemic-related restrictions accelerated economic activity, helping petrol consumption reach pre-COVID levels, preliminary sales data showed on Sunday.

State-owned fuel retailers sold 2.37 million tonnes of petrol in July, up 17 per cent from the year earlier period. It was 3.56 per cent higher than pre-COVID petrol sales of 2.39 million tonnes in July 2019. Sales of diesel – the most used fuel in the country – rose 12.36 per cent to 5.45 million tonnes over the previous year, but was down 10.9 per cent from July 2019.