As Economy Comes to Halt Amid Lockdown, India Registers Lowest Fuel Demand Since 2007

New Delhi: Amid the nationwide lockdown which in effect to arrest the spread of COVID-19, India’s fuel demand dipped 45.8 per cent in April from a year earlier. Also Read – Trending News Today May 09, 2020: Tablighi Jamaat: Delhi Police Crime Branch Finds Maulana Saad’s Audio Clip Doctored, Sends it to Forensic Science Lab

Consumption of fuel, a proxy for oil demand, totalled 9.93 million tonnes – its lowest since 2007, Reuters quoted from government data. Also Read – Salman Khan And Jacqueline Fernandez Bring ‘Tere Bina’ From Panvel Farmhouse, Waluscha D’Souza Interviews Them

As the economic activity came to a halt following the lockdown orders in March, fuel retailers across the country sold 50 per cent less refined fuel in the first two weeks of April than the same time a year earlier. Also Read – Trending News Today May 09, 2020: ‘Made by Jains on Orders, no Muslim Staffs’: Chennai Bakery Draws Flak For Its Islamophobic Poster

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced a 21-day lockdown beginning March 25, shutting offices and factories, barring those involved in essential services. Also, flights were suspended, trains stopped plying, vehicles went off the road and cargo movement stopped as most people were asked to stay home to help check the spread of coronavirus.