The strict nation-wide lockdown in April & May 2020 had a severe impact on the economy and the consumption of petroleum products. Localized lockdown measures in April & May 2021 because of the COVID-19 second wave also affected the consumption of Petroleum products. However, the situation is better than in 2020. In an earlier story, we analysed the consumption trend of Petroleum products and observed that the consumption fell by around 9% in 2020-21. This was also the first time since 1997-98 that the consumption was lower than the previous year. As per the information available on the website of Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC), a recovery during the last two quarters of 2020-21 in the consumption of Petroleum products was observed. With their key role in enabling logistics, movement of people & goods, and being a key input to various industries, the trend in consumption of petroleum products is one of the indicators of the state of the economy. Accordingly, the low consumption during the initial months of 2020-21 was reflective of the slowdown in the economy caused by the stringent lockdown to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The increase in consumption in later months marked the phase-wise opening of the economy and the subsequent recovery. Amidst this recovery process, the country was hit by the second wave of COVID-19 infections from the beginning of March 2021 resulting in a record number of new cases and forcing various states to again impose a variety of restrictions in April & May 2021. With the situation slowly improving, many states have begun relaxing the lockdown regulations. We look at the trends in consumption of Petroleum products during the first two months of the current financial year i.e., 2021-22 to understand the impact of the lockdown measures in various states. Consumption of Petroleum Products in May’21 lowest for that month since 2015-16 The impact of the second wave of COVID-19 was evident in April 2021 itself. The Total consumption of Petroleum products during April 2021, was 170.3 Lakh Metric Tons (LMT) whereas it was 187.75 LMT in March 2021. However, the consumption during April 2021 was comparatively higher compared to April 2020 when there was a stringent nationwide lockdown. The consumption fell further during May 2021 to 151.05 LMT. Unlike in the case of April 2021, the consumption during May 2021 is lower than the corresponding month in 2020. In fact, the consumption during May 2021 is the least in the month of May in the last seven years. The consumption in May 2015 was 154.93 LMT. Despite a decline in May’21, consumption of Petrol higher than April & May 2020 The consumption of Petrol during April 2021 fell to 23.86 LMT compared to the consumption in March 2021. The consumption fell further to 19.9 LMT during May 2021. The trend in both these months is reflective of the lockdowns in various states due to the second wave and the resultant fall in economic activity. Despite this decline, the consumption of the Motor Spirit i.e., Petrol is higher than April & May of 2020. During April 2021, the consumption was nearly 2.5 times that of April 2020. In fact, if the Petrol consumption during April 2021 is considered, it is only less than the consumption in April 2019 but more than any other year. Even in the case of May 2021, the consumption is higher than the consumption of 17.7 LMT during May 2020. It must be noted that May 2020 was the beginning of the relaxation of various restrictions while it is only towards the end of May in 2021 that states began relaxing lockdown measures. While the second wave does seem to have an impact on Petrol consumption, the fall is not to the extent witnessed in 2020. With most of the states opening up during June 2021, consumption is expected to improve in the coming months. Except for 2020, consumption of Diesel during May’21 lowest in more than 10 years As seen in the case of Petrol, even the consumption of Diesel witnessed a declining trend during April & May 2021 compared to March 2021. The consumption of Diesel was 72.24 LMT during March 2021 which fell to 66.83 LMT in April 2021 and fell further to 55.35 LMT in May 2021. Despite this declining trend, consumption is still higher than in the same months of 2020. The consumption during April 2021 is more than twice the consumption during April 2020. However, the level of consumption during April 2021 is the lowest since 2016-17 for the same month. The month-month consumption for May indicates that the consumption in 2021 is slightly higher than in 2020. However, except for 2020, the consumption of Diesel in May 2021 is the least in about 10 years since 2011-12.