India's fuel demand dropped in April amid COVID-19 restrictions

VCG

Fuel demand in India dropped in April following government-imposed restrictions aimed at curbing further spread of COVID-19, Reuters reports.

The second wave of the virus has left a devastating train of deaths in the country, with the number of virus-related fatalities topping 210,000 as daily infections rose by more than 300,000 for over 10 days.

"Overall fuel demand is down by about 7% from pre-COVID level of April 2019," Reuters quotes A.K. Singh, head of marketing at refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL.NS).

"We were near pre-COVID level in March but new restrictions and COVID wave-2 has temporarily reduced demand equivalent to about 10% of March demand for both personal mobility and industrial goods movement," he added.

Singh noted that local fuel consumption is expected to 'start to look up' in June, by when second wave of coronavirus is expected to weaken.

Analysts expect even lesser demand for fuel in India due to more impending restrictions.

Earlier on Saturday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced an extension by a week of the lockdown in India’s capital New Delhi.