India’s Petroleum Consumption Falls For First Time In 21 Years

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New Delhi: With the COVID-19 pandemic halting businesses and factories for several months during nationwide lockdown, India’s consumption of petroleum declined for the first time in 21 years.

Demand for petroleum in India, one of the world’s largest users of the fuel, declined as much as 10.8% last year compared to 2019. This was the first time there was a contraction in annual figures after 1999.

According to Bloomberg, demand in 2020 was at a five-year low of 193.4 million tons based on provisional data published by the Oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell.

Demand, however, has been picking up as the government eased restrictions over the last four-five months. In December, monthly consumption of petroleum fuels was about 1.8% less than the previous year’s levels. More significantly, it was at an 11-month high.