INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Dieselaccounts for about two-fifth of refined fuel consumption in India.NEW DELHI: Indian state refiners' daily diesel sales rose in
December from the previous month but a rapid surge in infections due to the Omicron coronavirus variant could hit fuel demand in Asia's
the same month last year, preliminary sales data compiled by the industry showed.However, it represented a 1.60% decline versus December
2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic had spread globally.Movement of diesel-consuming trucks in India picked up in December as more fruits and
vegetables were transported across the country than usual that month, while factory output and exports continued to grow, truckers
association Indian Foundation of Transport Research - Training said in a statement.But it added that the rapid spread of Omicron in India in
the last few days of December had "initiated (a) sense of nervousness" in trade and commerce, which was beginning to impact the road
activity.Industrial activity slowed in December but remained above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction.India's
57.6 though it stayed above the 50 mark for a sixth month.Daily petrol sales rose 3.21% month-on-month to 81,950 tonnes in December as
motorists preferred to use personal vehicles to protect against Covid.State retailers - Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan
Petroleum Corp - control about 90% of the fuel stations in the country.India's jet fuel sales continued to rise in December from the
previous month, but there are signs that growing travel restrictions to contain the spread of Omicron could hit jet fuel demand.Asian
refining margins for jet fuel plunged to a three-week low last week as airlines trimmed capacity amid surging Omicron infections.(This story
has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
