China Oct refinery throughput grows moderately

BEIJING - China's oil refineries saw rising outputs for a fourth consecutive month in October, as demand for the produce has been gradually recovering in recent months.

October's refinery throughput climbed 6.7 percent year-on-year to 39.92 million tons, taking the total volume of oil processed over the first 10 months to 383 million tons, according to the data released this week by the National Development and Reform Commission.

The growth is mainly attributable to developing market demand and the resumed operation of some crude oil refineries that had been shut down temporarily for scheduled maintenance, analysts said.

The International Petroleum Information Center also said this week that China's refinery throughout dipped to the year's lowest point in June, dragged down by shrinking industrial demand dampened by the slowing economy.

Market research firm C1Energy predicted that the upcoming release of figures for November will show the volume of crude oil processed in that month keeps the upward momentum, as more refineries resumed operation after routine maintenance.

In October, the volume of refined oil products increased 7.4 percent year on year to stand at 23.94 million tons, including 7.61 million tons of gasoline, 14.46 million tonnes of diesel and 1.87 million tons kerosene, the NDRC said.