China's power consumption rises in June

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June marked an end to an 8-month continuous decline in China's power consumption, achieving positive growth of more than three-and-a-half percent.

Data shows power generation in June hit 309 trillion kilowatt-hours. That's up by nearly 3.6 percent, year on year. That broke an eight-month period of negative growth. Analysts say 40 percent of the growth was attributable to the climate, and 60 percent to the economy.

Zhang Guobao, Director of the National Bureau of Energy said, "Power consumption is an obvious index. The power consumption turned to positive growth since mid June. And the figure for the whole month also became positive. From this point, we see evidence of a rebound in the economy."

China's power consumption rises in June

Data also shows that power consumption in East China jumped more than 7 percent year on year. And power consumption in Central China climbed by more than 6 percent. Meanwhile, consumption growth in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Henan, Sichuan, Xinjian and Tibet has been higher than the national average.

Hu Zhaoguang, Deputy Director of the State Grid Economic Research Institute, said, "June witnessed positive power consumption growth in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Bohai Bay area. That means economic growth contributed a large portion to last month's power consumption. And this indicates the country's economy has come out of the downturn since last October."

Power generation is a key indicator of a country's economic health. But it began to decline late last year in the country, indicating a slowdown in the economy. But an increase in power consumption is viewed as a positive economic sign.