India's Oil demand shrinks further as coronavirus crisis persists

The plunge in consumption at the world's third-biggest crude consumer will weigh on sentiment on oil prices and damp expectations for a strong global demand rebound in the summer

India’s oil demand worsened in the first half of May as large parts of the nation remained under local lockdowns to battle the world’s worst outbreak of Covid-19.

Sales of road transport fuels during May 1-15 dropped by a fifth from the previous month and about 28 per cent from the same period in 2019, according to people familiar with preliminary data from the country’s three biggest retailers.

Average daily sales of gasoline -- used in cars and motorcycles -- fell to about 53,300 tons, the lowest in a year. Sale of diesel -- the country’s most-used fuel and a