BEIJING — China's crude oil output edged up 0.6 percent year-on-year to 16.46 million metric tons in July, slightly retreating from an increase of 0.7 percent registered in June, official data showed.

During this period, China processed about 59.56 million tons of crude oil, up 12.4 percent year-on-year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

In the first seven months of this year, China's crude oil output gained 1.4 percent year-on-year to 113.5 million tons, and the country processed about 380 million tons of crude oil, up 2.3 percent from a year ago.

In July, China imported 51.29 million tons of crude oil, surging 25 percent year-on-year.