COVID-19 Shaved-Off 20-25 Per Cent Of Auto Fuel Demand In April 2021

India is hit by one of the worst crisis in its history leading to major devastation. At present, all we could think about is how to save our people from this deadly second wave of coronavirus. That said, COVID-19 had disrupted businesses last year and is doing that again this year. We have done several reports on how the auto industry is being impacted with quite a few states being under partial lockdown and footfalls and enquiries across the country taking a hit. In turn, the current situation has also impacted auto fuel demand last month, which according to a consultancy Wood Mackenzi has recorded a slump of 20 - 25 per cent.

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Sale of petrol used in cars and motorcycles dropped to 2.14 million tonnes in April.

During last year's lockdown, India's oil demand fell by 1.2 million barrels per day in April-June, recording around 25 per cent drop. Road traffic was particularly impacted, recording a peak decline of 45 per cent during April 2020. Oil product consumption almost halved in April 2020 with petrol demand going down by a record 60.5 per cent and diesel by 55.6 per cent. "While current localised restrictions appear inadequate in comparison to the severity of the pandemic, tighter restrictions come with expectations of additional financial support from the government; India's stimulus measures have been modest since the start of the pandemic, totalling 9 per cent of GDP. If a nationwide lockdown is enforced, the government will need to provide much more," consultancy Wood Mackenzi report said.

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Road traffic was particularly impacted, recording a peak decline of 45 per cent during April 2020.

Sale of petrol used in cars and motorcycles dropped to 2.14 million tonnes in April, the lowest since August, according to the preliminary data of state-owned fuel retailers. Petrol sale in April was 6.3 per cent lower than March 2021 and 4.1 per cent lower than April 2019. Petrol sales in April 2020 was 872,000 tonnes. Demand for diesel, the most used fuel in the country declined to 5.9 million tonnes in April 2021, down 1.7 per cent from previous month and 9.9 per cent from April 2019. Diesel sales in April 2020 was 2.84 million tonnes.