sales in December. But consumption may now be creeping back up as the driving public adjusts to the new prices. Subsidies were lifted December 19. Sales for the next week jumped, which probably reflects people filling up in the final hours before subsidies ended. The trend in the following weeks was downward. There was a spike at Now Ruz, a major travel period. But since Now Ruz there appears to be a general rise in consumption. Last week’s sales topped 60 million liters a day for the first time since the shift away from subsidies. The blank spots in the chart are weeks where the Oil Ministry’s website did not publish sales figures.