PetroChina 3Q profit up 7.8 pct on strong output

PetroChina Ltd., China's biggest oil and gas company, says its third-quarter profit jumped 7.8 percent as higher crude oil prices and output helped to offset losses in its refining business.

The Beijing-based company reported Thursday a profit of 37.4 billion yuan ($5.9 billion) in July-September, compared with 34.7 billion yuan a year earlier.

PetroChina reported a refining loss of 41.5 billion yuan ($6.5 billion) as higher costs for imported crude oil outpaced the gains in prices for its products.

But weakness in the refining sector was offset by a 45 percent increase in crude oil prices over the same period a year earlier and a 5.1 percent increase in output, to 959.3 million barrels of oil equivalent.