China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, rose 11.4 percent year on year to 553.4 billion kilowatt hours in May as the economy showed resilience, official data showed Wednesday.

The rate was much higher than the 7.8-percent increase for April, according to data released by the National Energy Administration (NEA).

Electricity used by the service sector rose 15.3 percent, followed by a 10.9 percent increase for the industrial sector and 10.3 percent for residential power use. Power consumption in the agricultural sector went up 9.1 percent, the NEA said.

In the first five months, power use went up 9.8 percent to 2.66 trillion kilowatt hours.

China's economy expanded 6.8 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2018, above the government's annual target of around 6.5 percent.

Economic activity continued steady expansion last month thanks to resilient industrial output and manufacturing investment.

Industrial output expanded 6.8 percent year on year in May, slower than the 7-percent rise the previous month but still faster than the 6-percent increase in March.