BEIJING — China's electricity consumption, an important indicator of economic activity, continued expansion in June as the country's economy stabilized, official data showed Thursday.

Power use reached 524.4 billion kilowatt-hours in June, up 6.5 percent year-on-year, according to the National Energy Administration (NEA).

In the first six months, power consumption rose 6.3 percent to 2.95 trillion kilowatt-hours, said the NEA.

In June, electricity use in the service sector jumped 11.1 percent year-on-year, outpacing the increases in the industrial and agricultural sectors, which stood at 5.4 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

The growth rate gap reflected positive changes in China's economic structure as the service industry has expanded faster than other sectors.

China's economy maintained steady growth given its foreign trade expanded at the fastest pace since the second half of 2011 and foreign direct investment increased further, Thursday's data suggested.

Exports in yuan-denominated terms rose 15 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year while imports increased 25.7 percent, customs figures showed.

Foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland rose 2.3 percent year-on-year in June to 100.45 billion yuan ($14.82 billion), the Ministry of Commerce said.