New Delhi: Indian state fuel retailers have sold about 17% less gasoline and about 26% less diesel in March compared to a year ago as fuel demand in Asia's third biggest economy declined due to steps taken to curb spread of the coronavirus, industry sources said.
State companies -- Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum -- own about 90% of India's retail fuel outlets.
Local gasoline sales in March were about 1.94 million tonnes, while diesel sales reduced to 4.98 million tonnes, sources said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed a 21-day lockdown that will end in mid-April in a desperate bid to stave off an epidemic among India's 1.3 billion people.
Due to restrictions on movement and travel advisories, aviation turbine sales have dropped by about 33% to 450,000 tonnes during the month, they said.
The country's consumption of liquefied petroleum gas or cooking gas rose 1.7% in March from a year earlier to about 2.3 million tonnes, they said.
Before initiating a nation-wide lockdown, India had taken steps including closure of schools, universities, shopping malls and other public gatherings and restricted air travel to control the spread of the virus.
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