By Xinhua,
Beijing : China’s oil refiners suffered losses of more than 120 billion yuan ($17.58 billion) in the first nine months, China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association (CPCIA) has said.
Global financial turmoil and economic downturn in the third quarter had a negative impact on the country’s oil and chemical industries, according to a CPCIA report released Wednesday.
Estimated sales revenue totalled 4.9 trillion yuan in the first three quarters, up 31.5 percent from the same period last year. Profits climbed 3.4 percent to 418.7 billion yuan, with the chemical sector up 31 percent and the oil and gas drilling sector up 53.4 percent.
Feng Shiliang, CPCIA vice secretary, said the worsening financial crisis, especially since September, had dampened growth of output and production value in the chemical and oil sectors and induced a sharp price fall, which eroded earnings.
In the first three quarters, gross industrial output value hit 50 trillion yuan, up 32 percent. However, growth had slowed since August and in September fell to record low of 25.1 percent, 9.8 percentage points lower than a month earlier.
The slowing demand drove inventories up and prices down, which depressed production and sales. The dim economic outlook further dented market confidence.