INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
State refiners' daily petrol and diesel sales declined by about a fifth in May from a month earlierThe country's fuel demand slumped in
May to its lowest since August last year with a second COVID-19 wave stalling mobility and muting economic activity in the world's third
from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the Oil Ministry showed on Wednesday."It's primarily because of the lockdowns, but
it's very difficult to isolate the impact on demand as even high oil prices could sort of pinch a little bit in terms of demand recovering
by about a fifth in May from a month earlier due to the pandemic, but higher fuel prices have also sapped consumption
The country's total coronavirus infections crossed 27 million and hit record daily levels last month, putting the government "on a war
footing" to contain the spread.However, as cases decline, parts of the country are expected to ease movement restrictions, which could boost
"Everybody is expecting the recovery will be faster this time..
so in another quarter or so probably we should be somewhere close to pre-pandemic levels," Vashist added.Diesel consumption, a key parameter
