OREANDA-NEWS. September 28, 2011. China's oil refining industry recorded a loss of 4.8 billion yuan (USD 751 million) in July because of high crude prices and rising selling costs, the National Development and Reform Commission said.

The industry posted a profit of just 2.4 billion yuan for the first seven months, down 93.5 percent from a year earlier, the commission said in a report on its website.

However, downstream petrochemical businesses made a 221.8 billion yuan profit in the first seven months, up 54.9 percent from a year earlier, the commission said.