Petrol, diesel sales shrink in March as lockdown wipes demand

India’s petrol sales shrank by 15.5 per cent and diesel demand fell over 24 per cent in March as the economy due to the nationwide lockdown announced to check the spread of coronavirus.

Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) sales fell by 31 per cent as flights were suspended due to the lockdown.

Petrol sales dropped to 1.859 million tonnes in March from 2.2 million tonnes sold in the same month in 2019, according to provisional industry demand numbers. Diesel, the most consumed fuel in the country, saw demand contract by 24.2 per cent to 4.8 million tonnes from 6.34 million tonnes in March 2019. Similarly, ATF sales fell to 2.25 million tonnes from 2.185 million tonnes last year.