Unlike China, India Oil Demand Stays Weak as Economy Falters
- Fuel consumption currently at about 40% below year-ago levels
- Demand slowly improving but timing of full recovery uncertain
People with and without protective masks stand next to a gas station during a partial lockdown in New Delhi, India, on May 14.
Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
It’s going to take months for oil demand in the world’s third-biggest market to get back to pre-virus levels as India faces its deepest recession ever in the wake of its near two-month lockdown.
Once the engine of global oil demand growth, India’s fuel consumption collapsed by as much as 70% at one stage last month as it embarked on one of the world’s most stringent nationwide quarantines. As the lockdown eases, it’s now running at about 40% below last year’s levels and could take until the end of 2020 to get close to full recovery, according to executives at the country’s state-owned fuel retailers.