Driven by a collapse in autogas consumption, Italian LPG demand fell to a multi-year low in April. This suggests the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the autogas market could be greater than expected.
Total LPG demand fell by 40 percent year on year to 157,000 tonnes, pulled down by a 72 percent fall in autogas consumption to 37,000 tonnes. According to Italian economic ministry records that date to 2002, this marks the lowest for autogas and for total LPG demand.
Autogas demand was 39 percent lower than in March, which itself was a 53 percent fall from 2019.
Italy consumes over 1.6 million t/yr for the past 4 years. Market participants had expected autogas consumption to fall by 20-50 percent in Europe, when lockdown measures were first announced in selected regions in the north of Italy began at the end of February.
Autogas demand typically peaks in the summer months, helping to bolster total LPG consumption when heating demands decrease. Transport diesel was also hit hard by the lockdown measures, and fell by 60 percent year on year to 804,000 tonnes in April. It got some support from the logistics sector.
Heating demand showed some resistance, falling by just 7.7 percent year on year to 120,000 tonnes with most of the country quarantined at home making up for milder temperatures.
