China's power use up 7.1% in first 11 months

BEIJING -- China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, rose by 7.1 percent year-on-year in the first 11 months of the year, according to data released by the National Energy Administration on Thursday.

During the period, power consumption of the country's primary industries increased by 6.8 percent year-on-year, while that of its secondary and tertiary sectors rose by 5.3 percent and 10.4 percent, respectively.

Residential power usage saw strong growth of 11.6 percent during this period, the administration said.

In November alone, power usage climbed 2.8 percent from one year earlier, according to the data.