Covid-19 lockdown and taxes eat away at diesel's edge over petrol in India

Refiners are expected to focus on making less diesel and more gasoline and petrochemicals to respond to changing demand

For decades, diesel has underpinned India’s economic growth and the fortunes of its refiners, but the pandemic has caused the nation’s most consumed fuel to lose some of its luster.

Since Covid-19-lockdowns have eased across India, diesel consumption has trailed the rebound in gasoline with trucks remaining idle amid a softer economy. Motor fuel use, however, has benefited from people choosing their own cars and scooters over public transport to avoid the risk of infection.

While diesel is still king in India -- fuel sales are double that of gasoline -- the uneven demand recovery has created a unique challenge for India’s