BEIJING — China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, expanded by 9.8 percent in June, year-on-year, as the country's economy recovers, official data showed.

Total power use came in at 703.3 billion kWh last month, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said.

In June, power consumption by the primary and secondary industries rose by 16.3 percent and 8.5 percent from a year ago, respectively, while that used by the tertiary industry jumped by 17.5 percent year-on-year.

The secondary industry was the major driver of the growth in total power consumption during the period, contributing to around 60 percent of the total increase, said the NEA.

Residential power consumption saw a yearly increase of 6.8 percent last month.

In the first half of this year, China's power consumption totaled 3.93 trillion kWh, up by 16.2 percent year-on-year.

China's economy expanded by 12.7 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2021 as recovery continues to consolidate, powering global economic expansion amid the raging pandemic.