“When it will return to normalcy is a very difficult question to answer," said Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, chairman of Indian Oil Corp., the country’s biggest refiner. Diesel and gasoline, which account for more than half of oil consumption in India, are bearing the brunt of localized lockdowns. Demand for key oil products -- diesel, gasoline, LPG, naphtha, jet fuel and fuel oil -- is set to drop by about 730,000 barrels per day in May from 4 million in March, the industry consultant said. “The regional lockdowns and periodic announcements do make it difficult to predict," said Senthil Kumaran, head of south Asia oil at FGE, who has already revised Indian fuel demand estimates lower twice this year. It’s going to be very difficult for Indian oil consumption to reach March levels anytime this year."

Source: Mint May 26, 2021 21:56 UTC