China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Asia's largest refiner, fell the most in five months in Hong Kong trading after crude advanced to the highest since May in New York.
China Petroleum, known as Sinopec, dropped as much as 5.3 percent, the biggest decline since Sept. 22, to HK$8.86, and was at HK$8.87 as of 3:27 p.m. local time. PetroChina Co., the country's No. 2 refiner, dropped 1.7 percent to HK$11.46. The benchmark Hang Seng Index declined 0.4 percent.
"Higher international crude prices certainly sparked some concern among investors that Sinopec may face big losses in refining," said Shi Yan, an Shanghai-based analyst with UOB-Kay Hian Ltd. "It serves as a reminder on how vulnerable Sinopec is to fluctuations in crude prices."
Crude for March delivery gained as much as $1.97 to $105.21 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest intraday price since May 5. Prices rose after Iran said it halted some crude exports and investors bet that fuel demand will increase as Europe moves closer to bailing out Greece.