India’s appetite for petroleum fuels to drop to 6-year low
India expects its oil consumption to expand at the slowest pace in six years as the economy sputters.
The nation’s consumption of petroleum products in the financial year to March 2020 is expected to rise by 1.3% to 216 million tons, the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell said in its estimates. That’s the slowest since the 0.9% demand growth in 2013-14, when crude oil averaged over $100 a barrel.
Slowing consumption growth reflects a widespread slump in demand for goods from cars to houses. India’s economic growth is at a six-year low and latest data shows the country’s industrial production contracted for a third straight month in October, mainly dragged down by energy-intensive industries such as capital goods, infrastructure and construction goods.
