China's oil refiners may return to profit this month after benefiting from the recent falling global crude prices, according to an industry association.

The country's oil refining industry would probably shake off heavy losses caused by previous crude price increases and state-imposed caps on refined oil prices if international prices continued to drop, the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association said in a report.

It forecast global crude prices could stay around or below US$90 a barrel in the fourth quarter due to the flagging world economy.

China's petroleum and chemical sector had experienced double-digit annual growth in its profit for five consecutive years before suffering a 0.04 percent fall in the first five months of this year. In the first half, its profit rose a mere 2.5 percent, association figures show.

After hitting a record high of US$147.27 a barrel in July, sweet crude for delivery in the next month has been continuously sliding. It fell below US$94 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) on Thursday.

The association urged that attention should be paid to increasing uncertainties for the petroleum and chemical industry. It added the sector's risk-resisting ability had improved markedly despite the global financial turmoil.

The output of Chinese refiners totaled 175.8 billion yuan (US$25.7 billion) in August, 37.4 percent up from the same period last year, according to the report.

The country produced 18.2 million tonnes of refined oil products in August, 10.6 percent more than the same period in 2007, it said. The growth was 1.3 percentage points higher than in July.

Output of the country's petroleum and chemical industry increased 34.9 percent to 604.2 billion yuan in August from a year before, accelerating 16.3 percentage points.

It forecast the sector would post a year-on-year growth of 35 percent in import and export value and 27 percent in sales in the fourth quarter.

(Xinhua News Agency October 5, 2008)