Fuel demand in the country has started to increase after the relief of lockdown rules. Its sales in May were almost double that of April, yet were down more than a third compared to the year before. According to the latest figures of public sector fuel marketing companies, petrol sales declined by 36.5 percent to 1.59 million tonnes in May on an annual basis. Whereas it increased considerably compared to April. In April, 9,73,000 tonnes of petrol were sold nationwide, which was 61 percent less than in April 2019.
Diesel sales fell 31% compared to 2019
Similarly, diesel sales fell 31 percent to 48.1 lakh tonnes in May on an annual basis. Whereas in April, 32.5 lakh tonnes of diesel was sold nationwide. This was 56.5 percent less than in April 2019. On a yearly basis, sales of aircraft fuel (ATF) also fell 85 percent in May to just 9,600 tonnes.
Petrol and diesel demand increases
The government has implemented the fifth phase of lockdown across the country which will remain till June 30, but with this the work of reopening the country’s economic sectors has started from June 1. Its first phase is named ‘Unlock 1.0. The demand for petrol and diesel in the country has seen an increase with various reliefs in May during the fourth phase of lockdown.
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Domestic LPG demand increased by 12 percent
Domestic LPG is the fuel demand which has seen a steady increase during the lockdown. Due to the government’s efforts to provide free gas cylinders to the poor, LPG consumption in May increased by 13 percent to 2.3 million tonnes on an annual basis. Similarly, gas consumption in April also increased by 12 percent to 21.3 lakh tonnes on an annual basis. These figures are based on sales figures of government companies only. Data for the entire fuel industry is expected to be released by next week.