Omicron curbs dampen motor fuel demand in January

Sales of petrol and diesel in the first half of January dipped by 3% and 5%, respectively, from a year ago, as Omicron brought back work-from-home and several travel restrictions.

Compared with the first fortnight of January 2020, petrol sales, which had recovered quickly from the first and second waves of the Covid-19 pandemic, were still 6% higher, as per the sales data from state-run oil companies that control about 90% of petrol pumps in the country. Diesel sales, however, were 8% lower than in January 2020.

Jet fuel consumption grew by 7% from a year earlier though it was 38% lower compared with the January of 2020. Continuing curbs on international travel have never allowed the aviation industry to go anywhere near the pre-Covid normal in the past two years.