Vehicles in Shanghai queue up to be refueled at a Sinopec gas station just before midnight on Monday. China raised the retail prices of gasoline and diesel on Tuesday, marking the biggest hike so far this year. Due to rises in international oil prices, the retail prices of gasoline and diesel have been raised by 270 yuan ($40.67) and 260 yuan per ton, respectively. Photo: IC

China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec), China's largest oil refiner, reported a loss of 19.78 billion yuan (about 2.83 billion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of the year.

The net profit attributable to its shareholders plunged 234 percent year on year for the period, the company said in a report filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Revenue decreased 22.6 percent to nearly 555.5 billion yuan, according to the report.

Sinopec blamed its stocks of high-priced crude oil and the fall of oil and chemical products consumption due to the outbreak of COVID-19 for the corporation's disappointing performance from January to March.

With economic activities gradually recovering, the petroleum and petrochemical market is warming up, and high-priced crude oil stocks are gradually being depleted, it said.