NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian state refiners’ daily gasoil sales rose in December from the previous month but a rapid surge in infections due to the Omicron coronavirus variant could hit fuel demand in Asia’s third largest economy.
State retailers sold about 208,150 tonnes of gasoil a day in December, up 8.75% from November and 1.48% higher than the same month last year, preliminary sales data compiled by the industry showed.
However, it represented a 1.60% decline versus December 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic had spread globally.
Movement of gasoil-consuming trucks in India picked up in December as more fruits and vegetables were transported across the country than usual that month, while factory output and exports continued to grow, truckers association Indian Foundation of Transport Research & Training said in a statement.
