BEIJING - China's commercial crude oil stocks rose 1.58 percent in February from the previous month, while stocks of refined oil surged 13.6 percent.

The increase was a result of fewer imports as well as falling output and processing volume.

Gasoline stocks went down in February as fuel demand rose during the 40-day Spring Festival travel period which concluded on March 12.

In February, China's net exports of gasoline fell 16.6 percent month-on-month.

Demand for diesel weakened due to a slowdown in construction activities, as projects were called to a halt due to the cold weather and the Spring Festival holiday.

Net diesel exports dropped 27.1 percent in February.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show China's output of crude oil came in at 190 million tons last year, down 4 percent from a year earlier.