BEIJING — China’s electricity consumption, an important indicator of economic activity, rose slowly in the first eight months this year, suggesting economic headwinds, official data showed on Sept 29.

Power use rose 1 percent year on year to 3.68 trillion kilowatt hours in the Jan-Aug period, the China Electricity Council said.

In the first eight months, electricity use by primary industry climbed 2.3 percent from a year earlier. Power consumption by secondary industry went down 0.7 percent, while tertiary industry saw a 7.5-percent rise amid economic restructuring.

Meanwhile, residential power consumption grew 4.3 percent year on year.

The decline in power usage in secondary industries indicated continued downward pressure on China’s industrial sector, said Shan Baoguo, with the State Grid Energy Research Institute.

He attributed the broader slowdown to sluggish external demand and a slowdown in exports, which dragged down industrial production.

The figures for August, in which power use grew 1.9 percent year on year to 512.4 billion kilowatt hours, provided a more encouraging suggestion of recovery.