China’s Sinopec reports a 2.6 percent rise in first-half profit, according to Reuters

(Corrects to show Sinopec (OTC: ) S1 profit rose 2.6%, not 2.7%; removes reference to figures based on Chinese standards.)

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Sinopec posted a 2.6 percent rise in first-half net profit, it said on Sunday, as rising oil prices boosted revenue.

China Petroleum (OTC:) & Chemical Corp, formally known as Sinopec, reported net income of 37.1 billion yuan ($5.21 billion) for the January-June period on Sunday, according to a Shanghai Stock Exchange filing .

Sinopec, the world’s biggest oil refiner by capacity, saw its sales fall 1.1 percent to 1.58 trillion yuan.

Meanwhile, production of ethylene, a key element for petrochemicals, fell 5.5% in the first half of the year.

Capital expenditure was 55.9 billion yuan for the period.

Crude output rose 0.6 percent this year to 140.53 million barrels, Sinopec previously reported, while output rose 6 percent to 700.57 billion cubic meters.

The company processed 126.69 million metric tons of , about 5.08 million barrels per day (bpd), up 0.1 percent from the same period last year, it said in a July stock filing .

This compared to a 1.7% increase in the first quarter. The slowdown was driven by higher crude oil prices and warm domestic demand for the fuel.

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