Daily fuel demand drops drastically

The daily fuel demand dropped drastically by about 42.9 percent to an average of 89,000 kiloliters (89 million liters) in the first week of November from about 156,000 kiloliters in October, Investor Daily reported on Wednesday.

State-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina's spokesman Abadi Poernomo said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the demand for diesel oil dropped by 68.6 percent to 27,000 kiloliters a day in the first week of this month, while the demand for kerosene fell by 55.7 percent to 49,000 kiloliters per day.

The demand for Premium fuel, however, rose slightly by 19.5 percent to 49,000 kiloliters during the first week of this month due to the surge in the demand prior to Idul Fitri holidays on Nov. 3 and Nov. 4, he added.

According to him, the overall fuel demand has begun to show a downward trend following the increase in the fuel prices on October 1 as more and more industries have turned to cheaper energy alternatives.

During the period between August and September, the total fuel demand reached between 182,000 and 192,000 kiloliters per day. The demand for Petroleum, for example, reached a total of 200,000 kiloliters per day during the week before the increase in the fuel prices on October 1. (*)