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Myanmar fuel consumption rises as business resumes
Following the easing of traffic restrictions in Myanmar, domestic oil consumption has risen from its trough in late April and prices are expected to remain on the upside .
“Domestic consumption has just started increasing again after the past two months as there are fewer cases of the virus being reported. In April, the market was virtually stalled, but yesterday almost all fuel stockpiles were exhausted, ”said U Min Aung Khant, CEO of MK High Class Fuel Distribution.
On May 5, local petrol prices fell to a record low K310 per liter for Octane 92, K410 for Octane 95, K760 for Octane 97, K450 for diesel and K460 for premium diesel. This was less than half the prices in January, before COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic.
Like the rest of the world, fuel traders said this is due to a drop in demand as transportation and flights ground to a halt and governments shut their borders. Locally, businesses shuttered and people remained in their homes.
But things appear to be picking up. On May 18, prices had risen K380 per liter of Octane 92, K500 for Octane 95, K810 for Octane 97, K470 for diesel and K480 for premium diesel.
U Win Myint, head of the Myanmar Oil Refiners Distribution Association, said this is also due to higher oil prices globally.
For now, local fuel distribution companies are expecting global oil production to stay flat despite rising consumption in the rest of the world as more countries emerge from lockdowns put in place to fight the pandemic.
Myanmar imports the bulk of its fuel requirements, with imports reaching US$3 billion in total during fiscal 2018-19, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
Source: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/myanmar-fuel-consumption-rises-business-resumes.html