India’s first half February gasoline, diesel use rises

India’s gasoline demand rose on the month in the first half of February as mobility increased after Omicron-related restrictions eased, while diesel consumption also increased.

Gasoline use rose by 7% on the month to 585,000 b/d in the previous fortnight, according to state-controlled refiners that account for around 90pc of India’s fuel sales.

Average driving activity across India has been 122% above a 13 January 2020 baseline so far this month compared with 77% above that level in January, according to data from US technology firm Apple.

But gasoline consumption was mostly unchanged on the year and down by 2% compared with the same time in 2020. The use of the motor fuel has been above pre-pandemic levels as preference for personal transport has increased, but mobility fell last month because of Covid related restrictions.

Diesel use was up by 7% on the month at 1.32mn b/d in the first half of this month, while it was down by 7% on the year and 15% from the 2020 level, the data showed.

Jet fuel consumption declined by 9% on the month to 101,000 b/d in the two week period.

Daily domestic airport footfall averaged 472,000 in the first half of this month compared with 486,000 in the first half of January, according to Argus estimates based on daily traffic data published by India’s civil aviation ministry.

But average footfall fell notably in the second half of last month on concerns regarding the new Omicron variant, and averaged 413,000/day for the entire month of January.

On an annual basis, jet fuel demand was down by 11%, the data showed, while it slumped by 43% from the same time in 2020.

Source: ArgusMedia