U.K. Road Fuel Sales Pass Pre-Lockdown Level as Staycations Pick Up

(Bloomberg) --

U.K. sales of gasoline and diesel briefly flicked above pre-lockdown levels in late July, as people took to the roads and vacationed domestically, adding to signs of recovering demand for road fuel across Europe.

Last Friday, July 31, the average filling station sold more than 18,000 liters of gasoline and diesel, government data show. That took sales above the average of about 17,700 observed over the eight weeks before the country entered lockdown. The week-on-week growth rate also quickened -- reaching 4.8%, from 1.9% previously.

The U.K. isn't alone in showing signs of recovering demand. Recent Spanish data also suggested that sales are picking up fast while there are also indications of more traffic in Italy, France and Germany, suggesting increased driving and fuel use.

“You've got people beginning to take holidays, going away for week or two staycations,” said Luke Bosdet, a spokesperson at the U.K.'s Automobile Association, adding that the main cause of the revival has been a steady recovery toward normal levels.

Nonetheless, the U.K. milestone doesn't mean the country is fully back to normal -- sales only eclipsed the pre-lockdown levels on the busiest day of the week during what is one of the busiest months of the year. The government is only providing comparative data for road fuel sales with the pre-lockdown time, rather than with the same period a year earlier. Considering the seasonality of fuel sales over the summer, when sales advance, the current demand is likely to be well below July and August of last year.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.