Australia's February jet fuel sales slump
Australia's jet fuel sales slumped in February to their lowest level since June 2016 from the impact of Covid-19 amid airlines cutting services and visitor restrictions.
Total jet fuel sales dropped to 147,500 b/d in February from 163,000 b/d a year earlier and down by 12pc from the 168,000 b/d the previous month. It was the lowest daily average for a month since June 2016 when it averaged 147,300 b/d, according to Australian Petroleum Statistics data.
The sharpest fall was for sales for international flights from Australia, which dropped to 91,500 b/d in February from 104,000 b/d a year earlier and down by 17pc from 110,000 b/d in January. It was the lowest daily average for a month since the 88,500 b/d in November 2017.
The slump in international sales reflected a large drop in the number of passengers departing Australia in February, which totalled 1.29mn against 1.52mn in February 2019 and down by 34pc from 1.97mn passengers in January. It the lowest number of passengers departing in a single month since February 2015 when 1.24mn passengers departed, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Australian domestic jet fuel sales fell to 56,000 b/d in February from 58,800 b/d a year earlier and down from 58,000 b/d in January. This was the lowest monthly level since June 2019 when 55,900 b/d was consumed.
Australia's domestic jet fuel consumption is significantly influenced by inbound tourists that fly to multiple locations during their visit. The number of short-term visitors to Australia dropped to a four-year low of 647,000 visitors in February, the lowest level since 646,300 in February 2016. February's arrivals were down by 12.5pc from the 739,000 visitors in January, which marked a steeper fall from the 796,000 visitors in February 2019.
Visitor numbers from China, where the coronavirus outbreak first emerged earlier this year, totalled 19,000 in Februarythat was the lowest in 16 years when 19,200 visitors arrived in February 2004. Chinese visitors accounted for only 3pc of all short-term visitors in February compared with an average of 15pc in 2019. Canberra started restrictions on travellers from China to Australia on 1 February.
Australia's jet fuel imports dropped to an eight-month low of 83,700 b/d in February, up on the 75,500 b/d imported during February 2019 but down by 22pc from the 108,000 b/d imported in January. It was the lowest monthly volume of jet fuel imports since the 75,000 b/d in June 2019.
Australia's four refineries produced 62,000 b/d of jet fuel in February, which was relatively steady with January's 62,300 b/d but below the 73,000 b/d produced in February 2019.