The petrochemical industry in China continued to slow down in the first two months, with its total output value rising at a slower growth of 16.3%year on year to RMB 1.73 trillion in the period, according to data from the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation.

The figure accounted for 13.9% of the country's gross industrial output in the two-month period.

The output value of the chemical industry increased 18.4% year on year to RMB 974.54 billion during the period, accounting for 56.3% of the total in the petrochemical industry.

The output of major chemical products rose 13.4% year on year to 71.43 million metric tons.

The country's crude oil output fell 1.1% year on year to 33.69 million metric tons during the period, and its output of natural gas grew 6.8% to 21.85 billion cubic meters.

The country processed 76.54 million metric tons of crude oil in the first two months, 4% more than in the same period of last year.