India’s crude oil demand last year fell for the first time in more than 20 years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bloomberg said in a report.
It noted that Asia’s second-biggest oil importer was expected to report its biggest gross domestic product contraction since records began in the early 1950s.
As in other countries, India had implemented strict lockdowns in response to the first wave of the pandemic, resulting in a 70 per cent drop in the country’s crude demand.
At the India Energy Forum in late October, Chairman of India Oil Corporation, Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, was quoted saying, “Gasoline has already crossed the pre-COVID-19 levels, and diesel too is edging towards pre-COVID-19 levels. The festive season would give a further boost to the demand.”
However, last month, gasoline consumption in India went up by 9.3 per cent on the year, even though diesel fuel demand was lower than a year earlier, Bloomberg stated.
it added that total fuel consumption for the month was 1.8 per cent lower than in December 2019 but the highest since February, the report also noted.
