China's power use growth slows in October

BEIJING - China's electricity consumption posted a slower increase in October, adding to signs of moderating economic growth but a still strong service sector, data showed Wednesday.

Power use rose 5 percent year on year, compared with 7.2 percent in September and 7 percent in October last year, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

For the January-October period, electricity use totaled 5.2 trillion kilowatt hours, up 6.7 percent year on year, NDRC spokesperson Meng Wei told a press conference.

During the period, electricity use in the service sector maintained double-digit growth, up 10.7 percent year on year, with that in the information transmission, computer service and software industry jumping 14.4 percent, Meng said.

Power use in the agricultural and industrial sectors rose 7.4 percent and 5.7 percent, respectively.

The industrial sector contributed 60 percent of the total electricity consumption growth, with power use by the manufacturing industry increasing 6.2 percent, outpacing overall growth, according to Meng.

The power use data came after investment, consumption and industrial output in October all posted slightly slower growth than September, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Tuesday.

China's GDP expanded 6.8 percent year on year in the third quarter, compared with 6.9 percent in the second quarter.