The easing of movement restrictions by the Indian government has improved driving activity, which boosted the country’s gasoline production to a seven-month high. Data from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas showed Indian refiners produced 3.147 million tons of gasoline in October, rising by 5.28% from September.
The production increased last month Indian refiners ramped up their run rates. The country’s top refiners IOCL operated its plants at 90% capacity in October. An official with the company said demand for gasoline and diesel reached pre-pandemic levels at the end of October. On November 20, the company reported that its plants run at full capacity. Fellow state refiner BPCL also ramped up its run rates to 86% in October.
Last month, India’s gasoline consumption increased by 8.31% month-on-month to 2.654 million tons, the highest in 18 months. Mobility data from Apple Inc. showed India’s driving activity in mid-November jumped by nearly 60% from baseline levels to a year-to-date high.
