BEIJING — China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, recorded stable growth in the first six months, official data showed on July 14.

The country's total power use increased 2.9 percentyear-on-year in the January-June period to 4.1 trillion kilowatt-hours, according to the National Energy Administration.

Power consumed by the primary industry increased by 10.3 percent year-on-year, and power used by the secondary and tertiary industries rose 1.3 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively. Residents' power consumption saw a year-on-year increase of 9.6 percent.

In June alone, power consumption was recorded at 745.1 billion kilowatt-hours, an increase of 4.7 percent from a year ago. Electricity used in the primary sector climbed 12.4 percent, and electricity used in the secondary and tertiary sectors was up 0.8 percent and 10.1 percent, respectively.