BEIJING - Growth in China's electricity consumption, an important indicator of economic activity, slightly recovered in May but still remained low, suggesting persistent weakness in the world's second largest economy.

Power-use rose 1.6 percent year on year to 456.7 billion kilowatt hours (KWh) in May, slightly up from the 1.3-percent rise seen a month earlier, the National Energy Administration (NEA) said on Monday.

"The data recovery shows some signs of improvement in the economy, but downward pressure can hardly be ignored," noted Ouyang Changyu, deputy secretary general of the China Electricity Council.

In the first five months, power use went up 1.1 percent. Electricity use by primary industry dipped 0.8 percent from a year earlier. Power consumption by secondary industry went down 0.8 trillion KWh, while tertiary industry saw a 8.3-percent rise, which Ouyang said was an effect of China's ongoing economic restructuring.

Meanwhile, industrial power use edged down 0.6 percent year on year, narrowing from the 1.1-percent drop in April.

The lukewarm data added to a slew of other indicators that showed growth momentum has yet to solidify despite a string of government-support policies, including three interest rate cuts since November.

Dragged down by a housing slowdown, softening domestic demand and unsteady exports, China's economy in 2014 grew 7.4 percent, its weakest annual expansion in 24 years. GDP growth in the first quarter of the year eased to 7 percent.