The output value of China's petrochemical sector grew by 1.4 percent from July to 579.38 billion yuan (84.84 billion U.S. dollars) in August, according to the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association (CPCIA).

The output was down 6.2 percent year on year, but the decline was 2.4 percentage points smaller than that of last month, CPCIA said in its latest reports.

The sector saw a 3.7 percent month-on-month decrease in its output value this July, the first decline this year. The output was down by 8.6 percent from a year earlier, which was 0.5 percentage points bigger than that of June, according to the report.

The report showed the output value of the country's chemical industry grew by 7.4 percent in August, the fastest rise this year. The ouput of oil and natural gas exploration fell by 37.4 percent year on year, and oil refinery went down by 12.1 percent.

From January to August, the output of China's petrochemical industry was down 9.6 percent year on year at 4.06 trillion yuan. The decrease was 0.7 percentage points smaller than that of the output for the first seven months this year, the report said.

CPCIA forecast faster recovery pace in the third quarter this year.