India, June 3 -- On Tuesday, the petroleum ministry released consumption data for various petroleum products for the month of May. What is normally a banal statistic is an extremely important piece of information regarding India's energy economy because May was the third month of the ongoing war in West Asia. The war has led to the virtual closure of the Strait of Hormuz and inflicted what the International Energy Agency (IEA) has described as the biggest energy shock ever. What do the May consumption numbers tell us about the war's impact on India's energy economy?

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Hindustan Times....