India's fuel demand recovery to continue with easing of Covid restrictions: Fitch

India's fuel demand will continue to recover through the current quarter as the easing of Covid-19 pandemic-related restrictions boosts economic activity, Fitch Ratings said, adding a caveat that this was subject to the risk of a resurgence in infections and the resultant impact on economy and mobility.

The recovery should support higher throughput at most oil marketing companies and strong prices are expected to improve the financial profiles of upstream oil and gas companies.

Fitch said it "expects India's petroleum product demand to remain moderately strong in the fourth quarter of the financial year ending March 2022 (4QFY22), as the easing of Covid-19 pandemic-led restrictions boosts economic activity."

However, recovery expectations remain subject to further restrictions due to the risk of a resurgence of Covid-19 cases in India with the emergence of new variants, even as the country makes progress in its vaccination plan.