India’s Brutal Covid Wave Hammers Fuel Sales as Lockdowns Spread
- All fuel sales in first half of April drop from month earlier
- Virus resurgence has strained hospitals as infections rise
A motorcyclist travels along a deserted Marine Drive during a weekend lockdown in Mumbai, on April 10.
Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Indian fuel sales declined in the first half of April as a deadly second wave of Covid-19 led to renewed lockdowns and crippled demand.
Sales of everything from diesel to cooking fuels dropped during April 1-15 from a month earlier, according to people familiar with preliminary data from the country’s three biggest retailers. Even gasoline fell by about 5% -- a product that recovered strongly during the pandemic as people favored their own cars over public transport to avoid being infected by the coronavirus.