Japan not under COVID-19-led movement curbs first time since early Jan Gasoline spot prices rise 37% year on year Japan’s domestic gasoline demand is expected to rise after the government lifted COVID-19-led movement restrictions in all 18 prefectures March 21, but surging retail prices are a worry and could dent some of that growth, market sources said March 23.
The country’s new COVID-19 cases slumped 81% from a peak on Feb. 5 to 20,231 March 22, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK. This is the first time that Japan has not been under any pandemic-related curbs since early January. “With the lifting of the priority measures, gasoline demand will recover gradually but as retail prices remain high, demand will not increase significantly,” a refiner source said. Japan’s gasoline demand in March is expected to fall 7% […]