India’s weak fuel demand drags on as virus crisis worsens

NEW DELHI: India’s fuel demand dragged lower in July, posting its fifth consecutive year-on-year decline, government data showed on Tuesday as a spike in coronavirus cases and floods in many parts of the country restricted economic activity.
Consumption of refined fuels, a proxy for oil demand, fell to 15.68 million tonnes in July, 11.7% lower compared with a year earlier and 3.5% below the prior month, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the ministry of petroleum & natural gas showed.
Diesel consumption, which accounts for about two-fifths of India’s overall fuel usage and is widely used for transportation as well as for the country’s irrigation needs, fell to 5.52 million tonnes last month from 6.31 million tonnes in June.
On an annual basis, demand for diesel declined about 19.3%.