BEIJING — China's chemical fiber industry registered shrinking revenue and profits in the first five months of the year, but the decline was narrowing, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) showed.

From January to May, the combined operating revenue of major chemical fiber companies — each with an annual operating revenue of more than 20 million yuan (about $2.86 million) — dropped by 17.97 percent year-on-year to 286.29 billion yuan, the MIIT data showed.

The contraction narrowed by 1.99 percentage points from the decline in the first four months of the year.

Meanwhile, profits of these enterprises shrank by 59.13 percent to 4.1 billion yuan from the same period last year, with the fall narrowing by 1.31 percentage points compared with the decrease in the first four months.

The output of China's chemical fiber industry was down by 3.16 percent to 22.94 million metric tons in the first five months of the year, with the decline narrowing by 1.81 percentage points compared with the decrease in the first four months, according to the ministry.