Petrol, diesel sales decline in first half of January due to spread of Omicron

Sales of petrol and diesel in the country saw a decline in the first fortnight of January as the third wave of the pandemic started to spread across regions, affecting the economy and causing a dip in workplace mobility and airline traffic. The new wave has led to the imposition of local restrictions in several parts of the country.

Diesel, which accounts for about 40 per cent of the country's overall fuel consumption, witnessed a drop in sales by 14.1 per cent to 2.47 million tonne during January 1-15 as compared with the same period in December and 4.99 per cent from a year ago, as per preliminary data from state fuel retailers. The sales were down nearly 8 per cent over the January 2020 period.

and 2.82 per cent lower than a year-ago period, the data revealed. However, petrol sales were 5.66 per cent higher than January 2020 sales and continued to stay above pre-Covid-19 levels as people continued to prefer using personal vehicles over public transport for safety reasons.

Jet fuel sales declined 13 per cent to 2,08,980 tonne during the first half of January as compared with the month-ago figure. However, the figure was 7.34 per cent higher year-on-year but was 38.2 per cent lower than January 2020 numbers.

Cooking gas LPG sales increased 4.85 per cent month-on-month and 9.47 per cent year-on-year to 1.28 million tonne. This was 15.25 per cent higher than January 2020, the data showed. Sales of LPG have been higher on the back of free cylinders that the government distributed to mitigate the effect of the pandemic on the poor.

(with inputs from PTI)