Electricity consumption by South Korea’s industrial sector gained 9.7 percent from a year earlier last month, fueled by solid export growth, the government said Thursday.

Sales of industrial electricity reached 21.09 billion kilowatt-hours in February, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.

The increase represents a rebound from 0.6 percent minus growth tallied in the first month of the year when the country recorded a trade deficit caused by weak exports.

Industrial electricity sales serve as a barometer of industrial activity as companies use more electricity when business is good and cut back to cope with drops in demand.

The ministry said the solid rise in power use reflects the 20.6 percent on-year growth in outbound shipments last month. South Korea shipped $46.4 billion worth of goods during the one month period for a trade surplus of $1.5 billion.

More working days than the year before, and colder average temperatures contributed to the increase.

Overall sales of electricity moved up 5.2 percent on-year to 41.93 billion kilowatt-hours last month as power consumption by offices, shops, educational facilities and homes all rose, the ministry said.

The increase comes after domestic power sales fell 1.5 percent on-year in January. 

(Yonhap News)