The amount of fuel cleared for excise duty by Revenue is the latest indicator to reveal the ongoing impact of Covid-19 on the economy.
In figures released today, the Central Statistics Office shows how the demand for fuel has slumped since the onset of restrictions to control the spread of the virus.
Excise clearance for unleaded petrol was 38% lower in November 2020 compared to the previous year.
It is also the lowest amount of petrol cleared in the month of November since these statistics were first collected in 2000, but still not as low as the 72% drop in excise clearance recorded during the first lockdown in April.
Cumulatively, in the months from January to November the excise clearance of unleaded petrol was down 27% compared to the same period in 2019.
Autodiesel was down 16.7% in November compared to the previous year and was 14.9% lower over the period from January to November.
The demand for unleaded petrol has been falling since a high point was reached in 2007 as changes to the tax code prompted more drivers to opt for diesel cars.
This has seen the excise clearance of unleaded petrol more than halve from 2.4 billion litres in that year to 1 billion litres last year.
By contrast, the clearance of autodiesel has almost doubled from 1.992 billion litres in 2000 to 3.679 billion litres in 2019.
