(Bloomberg) -- Fuel sales in the U.K. rose to their highest level since the outbreak of Covid-19, the latest sign that oil demand is rebounding in countries with high levels of Covid-19 vaccination.
Sales of gasoline and diesel surged to 19,377 liters per filling station on April 30, the highest since just before the country's first Covid-19 lockdown began last March. That's higher than during the peak of the 2020 summer vacation season.
“It is a tangible proof that vaccine programs are the way out of the crisis,” said Tamas Varga, analyst at PVM Oil Associates Ltd. “The more countries roll them out, the higher fuel consumption rises.”
The recovery in demand is of interest to oil traders because it offers a glimpse of what will happen in large fuel-consuming nations as they get through their vaccination programs. The U.K., which has given at least one dose to more than half its population, is in the midst of a steady economic reopening plan that's set to conclude in June.
There are already signs of a rebound in the U.S., which is similarly advanced in its vaccination campaign.
The expectation for a recovery in consumption has banks including Citigroup Inc, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and UBS Group AG calling for higher oil prices in the coming months.
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