(Finance) – I oil consumption in February, equal to about 4.3 million tons, was up by 12.6% (+ 482 thousand tons) compared to the same month of 2021, characterized by significant measures of travel restrictions to contain the pandemic, with red and orange zones and hourly limitations for some activities. This was announced by UNEM (Energy Union for Mobility), underlining that it is “a result in line with expectations considering that in February this year industrial and commercial activities, as well as mobility, have instead suffered fewer limitations. comparison is made with respect to February 2020, the last pre-pandemic month, while consumption is still 6.2% lower “.
THE consumption of automotive fuels (petrol + diesel), amounted to almost 2.4 million tons, of which 0.5 million of petrol and 1.9 million of diesel, with an increase of 11.6% (+248,000 tons) compared to same month of 2021.
In particular, the total gasoline it showed a growth of 17.9% (+82,000 tons) compared to February 2021, almost similar to the trend of gasoline sold on the network (+ 18.1%); automotive diesel increased by 9.9% (+166,000 tons), as did diesel sold on the network (+ 10.0%), while extra-network diesel, used above all for freight transport (+11, 4%), the recovery is slightly higher, reflecting the continuation of the positive dynamics in the construction sector.
The aircraft fuel recovery which, with + 129.5% compared to the same month of 2021, recovers about 100 thousand tons, however still positioning itself at a very distant level from February 2020 (-40%).
Unem also indicates that For the month of March 2022, “given the deterioration of the geopolitical and economic context due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, consumption is expected to be penalized especially for the transport of goods, with the exception of those sustained by the the construction sector, driven by the provisions of the ‘Superbonus’ “.
“The mobility of people – we read – should instead continue to progressively recover due to the overcoming of the pandemic emergency and, therefore, also due to the easing of the smart working. However, some uncertainty remains linked to the effects on private transport of particularly high fuel prices due to the surge in international prices “.
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