Italian oil product demand slumped by 45pc in April

Italian consumption of oil products fell by 45pc on the year to 2.68mn t last month, with demand hit hard by measures to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

The latest data from industry association Unione Petrolifera (UP) show a steep decline in consumption of transport fuels, with road diesel use dropping by 50pc from a year earlier, gasoline demand down by 73pc, and jet fuel consumption falling by 92c.

The total number of new car registrations in Italy fell by 97.5pc on the year in April. But with only around 4,300 new cars registered, UP has not supplied a breakdown of the different engine types.

Heating oil and agricultural diesel bucked the trend, with demand for the former rising to 78,000t last month from 47,000t a year earlier, and demand for the latter increasing to 218,000t from 144,000t. UP attributed the rise to lockdown measures.

The unusual circumstances prompted UP to take the rare step of publishing a forecast for May. It expects an overall year-on-year drop in oil product consumption of around 35pc this month, with the rate of decline slowing as coronavirus restrictions are gradually lifted.

Italy has been among the worst hit by the virus and was the first European country to impose a nationwide lockdown in early March. Restrictions began to be eased earlier this month, with factories and parks reopening on 4 May. Shops and restaurants were allowed to open their doors today on condition that customers adhere to social distancing.

By Thomas Warner