From performance of major economic indicator, according to statistics, from January to April, the added value of the petroleum and chemical industry increased by 4.8% year-on-year. Revenue totalled 3.97 trillion yuan, up 2.8%; profit totalled 229.97 billion yuan, down 17.6%; total imports and exports totalled us $236.98 billion, up 4%; China's total oil and gas output was 115 million tons (oil equivalent), up 4.3%; total production of major chemicals increased by 3.3% year-on-year.

It is worth noting that the growth rate of investment in the chemical industry slowed down in the first four months. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, investment in fixed assets in the manufacturing of chemical raw materials and chemical products increased 5.5% year-on-year in January-April, down 5.8 percent points from January-March.

Foreign trade in the oil and chemical industries continued to grow in April. The overall growth of import and export trade accelerated, but the export declined slightly. Customs data showed that imports and exports totalled $62.95 billion in the month, up 5.7% year-on-year. Among them, the total export value was $18.23 billion, down 4.4% year-on-year; total imports totalled $44.72 billion, up 10.5%; the trade deficit was $26.49 billion, up 23.8% year-on-year.

From overall benefit of the industry, the industry profit decline continued to narrow in April. According to statistics, from January to April, the total profit of the petroleum and chemical industry reached 229.97 billion yuan, down 17.6% year-on-year, 4.3 percent points narrower than the first quarter. Among them, oil and natural gas exploitation industry benefit maintained good trend, profit growth continued to accelerate; refining profits continued to plummet; chemical industry efficiency remained to rebound, profit decline continued to narrow. In the chemical industry, there were 23,088 enterprises above the standard, with the total profit of 131.33 billion yuan, down 15.2% year-on-year, 2.2 percentage points narrower than the first quarter, accounting for 57.1% of the total profit of the petroleum and chemical industry. Among them, the profits of pesticide, rubber products and coating (color) materials kept growing, with growth rates of 16.1%, 7.8% and 4.7% respectively.