BEIJING, July 13 -- China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, recorded steady growth last month, boosted by the overall recovery of the country's economy, official data showed.

Total power use in China rose 3.9 percent year on year in June to 775.1 billion kilowatt-hours, said the National Energy Administration.

Power consumed by the primary industries soared by 14 percent year on year, while that used by the secondary and tertiary sectors increased by 2.3 percent and 10.1 percent, respectively.

Residential power use saw a year-on-year increase of 2.2 percent to 110.8 billion kilowatt-hours in June, the administration said.

In the first half of the year, China's power consumption topped 4.3 trillion kilowatt-hours, up 5 percent from a year ago.