NEW DELHI: A boost in fuel consumption for everything from diesel to gasoline may signal the worst of the virus-driven demand crash is over.
Fuel sales surged during the first half of May compared with the same period last month as trucks returned to the roads and motorists jumped in their cars to drive to work following the easing of some lockdown restrictions. Demand for jet fuel rose the most over the two-week period as India deployed planes to bring back hundreds of thousands of stranded citizens across the world.
Fuel consumption fell to the lowest in more than 12 years last month as the world’s biggest lockdown kept more than a billion people at home. A return to pre-virus demand levels is expected to be slow and long, with the nation extending some restrictions until the end of May due to rising infections and Goldman Sachs Group Inc predicting the country will experience its deepest recession ever with a plunge in second quarter gross domestic product (GDP).
