India's weak fuel demand drags on as coronavirus crisis worsens

Sales of gasoline, or petrol, fell by 10.3% from a year earlier to 2.26 million tonnes, and were down 0.8% from 2.28 million tonnes in June

India's fuel demand dragged lower in July, posting its fifth consecutive year-on-year decline, government data showed on Tuesday as a spike in coronavirus cases and floods in many parts of the country restricted economic activity.

Consumption of refined fuels, a proxy for oil demand, fell to 15.68 million tonnes in July, 11.7% lower compared with a year earlier and 3.5% below the prior month, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas showed.

Diesel consumption, which accounts for about two-fifths of India's overall fuel usage and is widely used for transportation as well