India’s aviation turbine fuel demand is expected to remain subdued in the near-term as fears of a third wave of COVID-19 infections lurks in the country ahead of the upcoming festival season, with sources anticipating jet fuel prices to be weighed by fresh movement restrictions if cases soar.
While domestic travel has picked up in recent months, a potential spike in cases, could derail this recovery. Meanwhile, international travel remains mostly out of bound as many countries worldwide persist with a travel ban on India.
“Even though domestic passengers flights in India are picking up, the recovery is somewhat meaningless if international flights don’t start taking off,” a trading source said.
Reflecting the recent situation, a statement by the country’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation, on Aug. 29 said the suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger flights to or from India has been extended till Sept. 30. However, international travel may be allowed on selected routes by the authorities on a case-to-case basis, it added.
“I think people are frustrated that they are not able to travel out of the country even after 1 year into the pandemic, there is some serious pent-up demand for travel, and this continual spate of travel ban extensions are weighing heavily on sentiment,” a source with an Indian refiner said.
The pace of vaccination has picked up but it still leaves much to be desired, considering India’s total population, sources said.
India’s health ministry reported more than 350,000 active cases as on Sept. 1, with reported deaths hovering above 430,000. Total vaccination stood at over 650 million as of Sept. 1. That’s roughly 46.5% of the total population that’s been inoculated.
06/09/21 Hellenic Shipping News
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